BSW on public safety

The BSW wants to scrap immediately the monitoring category “delegitimization of the state relevant to the protection of the constitution.” An independent commission is to examine whether a strengthened police state-security branch could fight terrorism better. The party fears that the Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence agency) is being used against inconvenient voices.

The Verfassungsschutz is a domestic intelligence agency. It also watches people who strongly reject the state. The BSW wants to remove this group from its list. Experts should check whether the police can fight terrorism better.

The platform criticizes that the Verfassungsschutz has grown steadily in recent years with too little transparency and democratic oversight. The party considers the category vague and open to broad interpretation; it says it allows legitimate criticism of the government to be criminalized and intimidates people. In parallel, an independent expert body is to study whether counterterrorism would be handled more effectively and with clearer legal safeguards by the police's state-security units.

Prevention work and victim counseling are to treat right-wing, left-wing and religiously motivated violent extremism alike. The state should focus on preventing violence and protecting those affected.

The state should act against every kind of violent extremism. That means right-wing, left-wing and religious. Other opinions should not be a crime. The state should mainly prevent violence.

The program sees dissenting views as covered by free speech; they are not to be criminalized. The anti-Islamism projects of the Hallesche Jugendwerkstatt are to keep receiving federal and state funding.

The BSW regards security as a public service that belongs solely to the police and must not be privatized. Police and investigators are to be equipped so that they can match criminal networks. The party also wants more visible police presence and well-kept public spaces.

The police should provide security, not private firms. The BSW wants to equip the police better. They should mainly go after large criminal groups. People should see more police on the streets.

Municipalities with weak finances are not to be overloaded with sovereign security tasks. Law enforcement is to focus on the structures and profiteers of serious crime. The platform condemns violent extremism of every kind; prevention, education and firm intervention are to work together, with de-escalation taking priority. Unlawful state action is to be reviewed politically and legally, while officers on duty are to be better protected. For safe public spaces, police, municipalities, social institutions, clubs and citizens are to cooperate.

The BSW rejects Palantir software and similar systems for comprehensive automated data linking. Powers of the security agencies are to be necessary, proportionate and clearly limited. Instead, the party relies on transparent software from Germany or Europe.

Palantir is a program that links lots of data about people. The BSW does not want the police to use it. The party does not want surveillance of everyone. The police should use programs from Germany or Europe.

Automated data analysis and AI-supported evaluation are to be allowed only to avert the most serious crimes, terrorist threats or extremist violence. In the party's view, systems like Palantir allow far-reaching personality profiles even of uninvolved people, are hard to control democratically and create dependence on non-European corporations. With European solutions, algorithms, data flows and limits of use are to be verifiable. The BSW intends to scrutinize bills expanding police or intelligence powers critically and with a focus on fundamental rights.

The BSW wants to bring the state police to around 7,000 officers by 2028 at the latest. In addition, promotion backlogs are to be cleared through regular promotions, and pay is to be appropriate to the office held. The party attributes staff shortages and the job's low appeal to political decisions.

The BSW wants more police officers in Saxony-Anhalt. By 2028 there should be about 7,000. Officers should be promoted regularly. They should also be paid properly. This should make the job more attractive.

Alongside regular promotions, there are to be faster promotions for above-average performance and after successful further training. Promotions should no longer depend on posts happening to be vacant. To this end, the party wants to amend the state civil service act and the state's promotion guidelines. After a probation period of no more than six months, officers are to be paid at the grade of the advertised post.

The BSW wants to rewrite Saxony-Anhalt's disaster protection act because, in the party's view, it no longer meets today's threats. The responsibilities, powers and duties of mayors and district administrators are to be clearly defined.

The BSW wants to renew the law on disaster protection. The law should say clearly who decides in an emergency. This mainly concerns mayors and district heads. The party says the state is not well prepared for disasters.

According to the platform, clear responsibilities, a unified command structure and an integrated civil protection system are lacking. It lists extreme weather, long power and infrastructure outages, pandemics and hybrid threats as dangers. The responsibility of local leaders in an emergency is said not to be clearly set out in state law so far. Overall political responsibility in a disaster is also to be laid down in law.

The BSW wants a standing state-level staff for disaster and civil protection and an updated disaster protection law. Protection is to be planned ahead, practiced regularly, and paid for by the state up front in an emergency.

The BSW wants a permanent crisis team for the state. This team plans how to protect people in disasters. There should be regular drills with the public. In an emergency, the state pays the costs first.

The staff is meant to coordinate fire protection, flood and heavy-rain protection, emergency power, telecommunications and medical care, among other things. The program calls for regular drills that include the public and for clearly defined responsibilities and command structures. Existing shelters are to be recorded statewide, inspected and made usable again where needed. In a disaster, the state is to cover costs and compensation up front so that municipalities, aid organizations and volunteers do not hesitate over unresolved funding.

The BSW wants to strengthen volunteer fire departments financially and structurally. With state help, cash-strapped municipalities should be able to invest more in fire protection, and volunteering should become more attractive.

The BSW wants to help volunteer fire departments. Poor towns should get state money for fire protection. People who volunteer should get more pay and more recognition. Fire crews should have fewer side tasks.

The program lists higher volunteer allowances, guaranteed medical checkups and counting the service toward pensions. Companies are to get incentives to hire firefighters, and long-serving members are to receive more recognition. Fire crews should focus on direct emergency response and be relieved of tasks such as oil spills, road closures or false alarms. For volunteering in general, the BSW calls for better equipment, reliable funding and tax relief; attacks on emergency and rescue workers are to be prosecuted consistently.