“It’s now about the safety of Berliners”
After the attacks on the fire brigade and police on New Year’s Eve – what do you want to do in the short term?
We will speak about a corresponding proposal on Tuesday in the Senate session. I have three very clear messages. First of all, I want to change the General Safety and Order Act, immediately make bodycams possible for police and fire brigade emergency services and not wait for the test run with 300 devices. We now need 4000 bodycams. If we had implemented this in the coalition from the start, as I called for, we would have made progress.
Your coalition partners insist on the test run until 2024.
I say to the coalition partners that we must act immediately. I keep hearing from the police and fire departments that body cams are the right approach. This would give us more evidence of the crimes committed on New Year’s Eve. The delay in the bodycams is clearly at the expense of the rescue and emergency services. And that doesn’t work at all.
And you want to cancel the test run?
It’s not about rushing into action, it’s about having the courage to do it quickly. New Year’s Eve has shown that it is now about the safety of the emergency services and the people of Berlin. We still do the study and the evaluation.
How soon should the bodycams come?
We want to introduce the bodycams quickly and across the board. Then we need to look at how to cover that in the budget or via unplanned expenses to get started quickly. That has to be advertised, for 4,000 devices, around four million euros can be expected.
That was plan one, what are you planning to do next?
Message two: It’s about making the Explosives Act more flexible. I would also like to discuss this at the conference of interior ministers, which I am chairing this year. I would like my colleagues to support such initiatives at federal level.
Each federal state should be given the opportunity to react flexibly to operational situations, with minor deviations up to and including a ban. For example, about 30 percent of people injured on New Year’s Eve who die in hospital have been fired at by others, including children. This is irresponsible.
And the no-gun zones?
We can do that ourselves in Berlin. We’re going to take a close look at the areas where what happened. Based on this, we will align the police measures and, if necessary, set up further prohibited zones.
The Union is now criticizing Berlin as a failed state, and the coalition is partly to blame for the lack of respect for emergency services. What do you say?
Quite simply: other major cities also experienced this riot on New Year’s Eve. People have been injured elsewhere too. That’s why I want to discuss this with my counterparts. Personally, I said from the start of my tenure that I stand behind my police force and fire department 100 percent. And I expect full support from the coalition when it comes to protecting rescue and emergency services.
And the third point of your plan?
Tightening of gun laws. The purchase of alarm guns and ammunition must be linked to the small gun license. In addition, everyone should explain in a reliable manner when, why they really need the firearms license and a blank gun, so that they are not sold indiscriminately without proof.