Behavior scanner in Mannheim: No criminal offenses, but camera surveillance
Mannheim's police surveillance system, employing behavioral scanning software to detect suspicious activity, is facing scrutiny regarding its legal basis. This pilot project, intended for areas with high crime rates, has raised questions about its application in a specific sector of the city's central "Breite Straße." The Baden-Württemberg data protection authority is now investigating the matter following journalistic inquiries. The surveillance program utilizes cameras to monitor a 700-meter stretch of the Breite Straße, analyzing footage for potential criminal behavior. While public areas in Baden-Württemberg can be subject to video surveillance if crime rates significantly exceed those of the general municipality, data requested under freedom of information laws indicates a stark absence of recorded street and drug-related offenses in the monitored northern section of Breite Straße since 2017. This calls into question the justification for ongoing camera deployment in this particular zone. Despite the lack of reported offenses, police assert that other data points, not publicly disclosed, legitimize the surveillance. This discrepancy has prompted the data protection authority to intervene, signaling a potential re-evaluation of surveillance practices and the criteria for their implementation across other cities and states that are considering adopting similar behavioral scanning technologies. The case highlights the ongoing tension between public safety objectives and data privacy rights in the deployment of advanced surveillance technologies.
Curated and translated by Europe Digital for our multilingual European audience.
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