- Unused police software currently not implemented in Bavaria yet
After the necessary legislative adjustments by the Landtag, Bavaria's contentious new police software has yet to be activated. A representative from the Bavarian State Criminal Office (LKA) stated that the program is "essentially operational," but they're waiting for the data protection officer to issue a statement within six weeks before the officers can utilize it for the first time, as stipulated by the Police Duty Act (PAG). "We're currently still waiting for this period," the LKA spokesperson said.
The emergency clause has not been activated yet
The LKA spokesperson mentioned that the officers can only inform the data protection officer about the use after the fact in situations of imminent danger. "However, such a situation has not arisen yet," they added.
As per the State Criminal Office, the cross-procedural research and analysis platform (VeRA) is intended for use in serious and highly serious crime cases to prevent future offenses. This includes organized drug trafficking, phone scam groups, potential terrorist attacks, sexual offenses, child pornography, and similar cases.
Software to access vast amounts of data
VeRA is designed to access and analyze vast amounts of data from various sectors of the Bavarian police, making it easier for investigators to uncover connections and combine information about the same individual from multiple sources. Previously, investigators had to manually analyze multiple systems and compare their results, which could take several days.
The introduction of the software faced criticism due to concerns that police data might be transferred to the USA through the American manufacturer Palantir. Upon reviewing the software's source code, no indications of hidden backdoors were found. Nevertheless, data protection advocates objected to the police's access to data collected for unrelated purposes.
Bavaria's top data protection officer, Thomas Petri, voiced concerns about the potential violation of the so-called purpose bond. The SPD in the Bavarian Landtag is contemplating initiating legal action against this matter before the Constitutional Court.
The Landtag in Bavaria has made necessary adjustments to enable the activation of the contentious new police software, but it remains inactive due to the six-week waiting period for the data protection officer's statement. Despite mentioning that officers can inform about usage in critical situations, no such instance has been encountered yet in Bavaria.
