Police law blueprint for Saxony unveiled; Leftists denounce "Schuster's authoritarian aspirations"

In the heart of Germany, the Saxon Ministry of the Interior is stirring up a storm with its proposed revisions to the Saxon Police Act. The plans, as reported by the "Freie Presse" on September 2, 2023, have raised eyebrows and sparked concerns about potential infringements on civil liberties.

The headline-grabbing proposals include granting the police more rights not covered by the constitution, the deployment of AI software on the population, and access to potentially lethal electroshock pistols beyond specialized units. The plans also encompass covert video surveillance on streets, even for minor offenses, and the use of source-TKÜ with Trojans and secret 'online searches', even if no crime has been committed.

Armin Schuster, the Interior Minister, is the driving force behind these ambitious plans, often referred to as his "Polizeidreams". However, the specific funding source for these initiatives remains unclear in the available search results.

The plans for the new Saxon Police Act are so far-reaching that even the coalition partner SPD has expressed concerns. If the CDU, the ruling party, moves towards a surveillance state, they may need to find a dirty majority with some populists.

The Saxon Constitutional Court instructed the state government to revise the Police Act in 2022 due to some unconstitutional passages. The bill for the revised Saxon Police Act, as promised at the beginning of the year, is still pending.

The spokesman on interior policy of the Left faction in the Saxon state parliament, Rico Gebhardt, has questioned why the interior minister has not followed the court's instructions to revise the Police Act. He also expressed that the Left faction will not allocate funds for such authoritarian fantasies in the current state budget.

The Police Act that came into force in Germany in 2019 contains passages that violate the Saxon Constitution. The new Saxon Police Act, as planned by Minister Schuster, is filled with plans to equip the police, which are likely not compatible with the constitution.

The German interior ministries are under scrutiny for overlooking the high costs of modern surveillance gadgets without proven benefits in police investigations. The revised Saxon Police Act, if implemented, could add to this growing concern.

As the debate around these contentious plans continues, the people of Saxony await clarification on the future of their police force and the protection of their civil liberties.