Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has called for new action concepts from the police after the attack in Magdeburg, following a meeting of the Bundestag’s Interior Committee. The Magdeburg perpetrator “does not fit into any existing profile” she said in the late afternoon.
“Noticeable are the hints at a mentally ill psyche. The thousands of statements from the perpetrator in various networks will therefore be thoroughly examined, as will the numerous hints and procedures at various authorities in the Federal Republic” Faeser said.
“Moreover, we must draw the right conclusions about how such hints should be evaluated and consolidated in the future in order to be able to intervene in a timely manner” she said. “Here, it’s about perpetrators who are psychologically noticeable and often driven by erratic conspiracy theories. Such perpetrators do not fit into any danger profile. Here, we need other indicators and action concepts” she demanded.
This might include “case conferences” of all authorities that have dealt with such a person, Faeser said. Work has already been underway on this in the Interior Ministers’ Conference for two years.
“Our security authorities need all the necessary powers and more personnel” she said. This was already clear before Magdeburg. The government’s budget proposal sees more money for internal security and more employees at the Federal Police.
She also emphasized the need for “lawful storage of IP addresses in the fight against crime and terrorism.” If the Union in particular shows willingness, it could still be decided in the current legislative period, Faeser said.
FDP parliamentary group vice Konstantin Kuhle also saw further need for debate after the special meeting of the Bundestag’s Interior Committee. “The parliamentary investigation into the attack in Magdeburg has only just begun today” he said in the late afternoon.
“Out of respect for the victims, the many, some of whom are severely injured, and their relatives, vouch for themselves against hasty conclusions. With a view to the backgrounds of the act, many questions are still open and need to be clarified quickly” Kuhle said.
“The perpetrator was known to the authorities in the federal and state governments as the author of numerous conspiracy-theoretical content, but also of concrete threats in submissions to authorities and justice, as well as in social media. To clarify why, despite these numerous indications, no more intense measures were taken by the security authorities, we need now a comprehensive compilation of all the authorities’ contacts with the perpetrator” the FDP politician demanded.
Demands for stricter surveillance laws should not be allowed to distract from this question, Kuhle warned. “There is no indication at the current stage of knowledge that the authorities wanted to take certain measures but were not allowed to. The discussion about the so-called data storage is a diversion in this context.”
Instead, one should focus on the question of how the cooperation of the numerous German security authorities can be improved, for example through a federalism reform in the area of internal security or through the creation of legal foundations for the data exchange between the federal government and the states in common centers like the Joint Terrorism Prevention Center (GTAZ)” the FDP parliamentary group vice said.