Interior politicians pass new Berlin police law
Interior politicians have cleared the way for a stricter police law in Berlin. On Monday, the Interior Committee of the Berlin House of Representatives passed the bill on the Security and Order Act (ASOG). The amendment still has to be passed by the plenary of the House of Representatives. According to the Berlin coalition of CDU and SPD, this should happen this year. After lengthy negotiations, the SPD and SPD had agreed to tighten up the police law and recently improved the draft.
"The SPD and CDU are whipping the tightening of the ASOG through parliament with urgency," wrote Niklas Schrader, spokesperson for home affairs for the Left Party parliamentary group, on the online platform X, formerly Twitter. "Many of the hearing participants' major criticisms of preventive custody, tasers and body cams in homes were rejected. Nevertheless, the law is to be rushed through. WHY!?"
The Left and the Greens had previously repeated their criticism of several planned changes in the committee. Green Party interior politician Vasili Franco submitted a list of 85 questions for the meeting and demanded information from the Senate on details and unresolved issues. His questions were primarily aimed at the use of so-called bodycams on police officers' uniforms and the use of stun guns (Taser).
In future, Berlin police officers are to be allowed to film certain operations with bodycams if there is a risk of escalation. Stun guns, which have so far only been tested, will also be able to be used by the police to a greater extent. The maximum duration of preventive detention is to be extended from two to five days.
The new Berlin police law, passed by the Interior Committee of the House of Representatives, aims to enhance internal security by allowing police officers to use bodycams during operations with potential escalations and expanding the use of stun guns. The House of Representatives needs to approve the amendment to the Security and Order Act (ASOG) for it to become law.
Despite criticism from the Left and Green parties about the use of bodycams and stun guns, the House of Representatives is pushing to expedite the passage of the tightened police law, as mentioned by Niklas Schrader, spokesperson for home affairs for the Left Party parliamentary group.
Source: www.dpa.com
