Police – not a friend, but a threat to public safety
Although many people consider the police to be friends and helpers, and think they are here to protect and serve, some have always experieced them as a tyrannical and violent institution that had best be avoided in everyday life. People of Color, homeless people, people with outstanding residence status, people with an alternative appearance, recreational drug users, ultras, and sex workers are often treated as suspects and regularly stopped, inspected, and bullied by police officers – and are often even subjected to physical violence.
With the new Bavarian PAG – the most extreme police legislation since 1945 – the powers of police officers to conduct surveillance and intervene in personal affairs has been massively expanded. The legislation grants police officers the most far-reaching authority compared to any other german state, and is intended to provide a blueprint for other regions of Germany. Those who have always associated the police with danger rather than safety will likely continue to be the ones most affected. But others might also be targeted. Justifiably, the PAG has been sharply criticized from many angles.
“Imminent danger” is a threat to basic rights
The PAG’s central concept of “imminent danger” has introduced a vague threshold for preventive measures that would interfere with the basic rights of innocent and unsuspecting individuals. Whereas in the past concrete evidence of danger was required to withhold an individual’s right to freedom, all that is now required is for that person to pose a potential threat: when this occurs and whether the police intervenes is up to the subjective discretion of the investigating officers. Unlike the concept of concrete danger, “imminent danger” provides no clear definition of which facts indicate that a crime is probably being commited.
The concept of “imminent danger” gives the police the authority, for example – regardless of whether a crime has been committed or a solid reason for suspicion exists – to search living areas, to monitor communications and to manipulate data extensively, to determine someone's “biogeographical origin” via advanced DNA-Analyses, or to apply ankle monitors to track individuals. Arbitrary police violence, which is already underinvestigated and rarely punished, has become even easier to justify through imminent danger. With the additional gearing up of the police force (e.g., with hand grenades), the PAG provides a framework for them to gradually become a militarized deployment force with powers equivalent to those of the secret service.
Now it’s time to turn the tables. It's true; we are faced with an imminent danger: the police itself.
Even those of us who have had the privilege of never being negatively confronted by the police should be able, since the PAG, to recognise them as a threat to an open, democratic, and free society. With the extended powers of the police, anyone could become the victim of baseless infringement of their privacy via excessive surveillance and other arbitrary restrictions of their basic rights, even in the absence of any concrete suspicion. With varying degrees of intensity, the wrong circumstances could make anyone into a target. Therefore, we need to recognise the danger for what it is, protect ourselves, and demonstrate solidarity with others who are affected.
Report the cops in your vicinity!
On this map, the presence of police officers around the city can be reported and documented anonymously. Now we can stand united and oppose the true imminent danger. The more members participate, the more accurate the information on police presence will become. In light of the current reactionary security policy, we as members of a civil society have the right and responsibility to be watchful and to guard against despotism and police supremacy. On the one hand, Cop Map will help prevent unpleasant encounters with the police; on the other, the collected data (no personal data, only location data) opens up a view “from below” of how police presence and activity is allocated in public spaces. Cop Map makes this potential danger visible to all. Users can establish an informed and conscious method of dealing with police presence in order to protect themselves from potential violence or discrimination. Most importantly: if you see somebody being harassed by the police on the street, don’t look away – report what you see and offer your support!
If you yourself become the victim of police violence, you can reach out to supporting organizations such as KOP, copwatchffm, or “Rote Hilfe”.
