CDU on public safety

The CDU wants to make buses, trams, and stations safer through a comprehensive security plan. Police and municipal enforcement officers would be more visible there. In the program's view, public transit will otherwise not become an alternative to the car.

The CDU wants to make buses, trams, and stations safer. More police and enforcement officers should be present there. The party says people only use public transit if they feel safe.

The transit operators BSAG, Bremerhaven Bus, and Nordwestbahn would receive the resources for a security plan in their vehicles. Police and the municipal enforcement service would ride public transit more often. At heavily used stations such as Vegesack or Burg, the CDU wants to deploy more police officers.

The CDU wants to ban alcohol and drug use, alcohol sales, and aggressive begging around Bremen's main train station. At the same time, a coordination office involving all relevant government departments is to help people in the station scene, since the party says policing alone will not solve the situation.

The CDU wants new bans at Bremen's main train station. Nobody may drink alcohol or take drugs there. Selling alcohol and pushy begging are also banned. A new office should help the people there.

The platform describes the station and the surrounding district as increasingly marked by addiction, crime, and social hardship. The "Hauptbahnhof" coordination office is to involve all affected Senate departments, alongside a joint plan covering security, health, and social affairs. Also planned are better lighting, a redesign of the Platz der Deutschen Einheit for events, development of the Rembertikreisel area, and easing the traffic situation at the Gustav-Deetjen tunnel.

The CDU wants to fill all 110 neighborhood contact officer positions and expand technical surveillance of public places. A mobile police station operating around the clock is to be set up at Bremen's main train station. The platform justifies this with what it sees as a security problem in Bremen.

The CDU wants more police on the streets. Every district should have its own contact officers. There should be more cameras in public places. A police station at the main train station should be open day and night.

Contact officers are to be used only for their actual duties in the district and not pulled away when staff is short. Expanded surveillance is meant to help solve crimes in busy places. The mobile station at the main train station is to be staffed at all times because the CDU sees a particular hotspot there. Digital services are to let people reach the police at any time, even outside the 110 emergency line. The CDU wants to keep the police forces of the two municipalities independent.

The CDU wants to raise the number of police officers by 2027 to at least 3,000 in Bremen and at least 580 in Bremerhaven. A police academy offering a police-track vocational diploma ("Fachabitur Polizei") is to open the job to people without the Abitur. Pay and allowances are to rise to make the job more attractive.

The CDU wants to hire more police officers. Bremen should have at least 3,000. Bremerhaven should have at least 580. People without the highest school diploma should also be able to join. Police officers should earn more money.

The first priority is to actually fill existing positions. The police academy is to secure the current university-level training and also offer the vocational diploma, for which hiring requirements will be changed. Trainees are to be able to get a class B driver's license free of charge during training. Pay is to rise to the national average and the police allowance to the level of the firefighters' allowance, and it is to count toward pensions again. A hardship allowance is planned for officers who work on cases of child pornography and child abuse.

The CDU wants to relieve police officers of administrative and secondary tasks and hire more non-sworn staff for that purpose. At the same time, police technology is to be upgraded, including a cyber police unit, dashcams in patrol cars and apps for administrative work.

Police officers do a lot of office work. The CDU wants other staff to take this over. Then officers have more time for their real job. The police should also get better technology. A special unit should fight crime on the internet. Patrol cars should get cameras.

Support staff are to take over administrative tasks in case processing. Guarding buildings and watching people in holding cells would also no longer have to be done by sworn officers. The police are to get powerful hardware and software for analyzing cases and for digital communication. IT security and data protection are to be maintained, including when working from home. With app-based tools, officers are to handle most administrative work directly in the field.

The CDU wants to equip the police in Bremen and Bremerhaven with modern technology, more vehicles and new gear. This includes tasers, dash cams, mobile devices and digital workflows, as well as an online police station reachable by video.

The CDU wants to equip the police better. Officers should get tasers, car cameras and good protective clothing. They should use tablets and smartphones. People should be able to report crimes by video at any time.

The number of available patrol cars is to be matched to demand, and the bicycle unit is to be expanded. For dangerous operations the platform calls for tasers, dash cams and new protective clothing, plus tablets, card readers, smartphones and a dedicated messenger service across the force. A digital case file is meant to allow seamless data exchange with prosecutors and citizens. The CDU also plans Wi-Fi at all police sites, software including artificial intelligence, an "Innovation Hub 110" for IT projects, and digital hearings and interviews. A video online station open around the clock would let residents file reports from home.

The CDU wants to review and amend Bremen's police law. Data protection rules that go beyond the EU's General Data Protection Regulation would be dropped, special control zones brought back and receipts for police checks abolished. The platform justifies this with its trust in the police.

The CDU wants to change the police law in Bremen. Extra-strict data protection rules should go. There should again be special places for police checks. Officers should no longer have to hand out a receipt after a check.

The platform rejects blanket distrust of the police and wants to back officers in their work. The current police law is to be evaluated and adapted to present needs. Rules stricter than the European General Data Protection Regulation, which the CDU says make everyday police work harder, would be rolled back. Special control zones would be reintroduced and receipts for checks abolished again.

The CDU wants to confront criminal clans with sustained pressure from checks and investigations. Measures include taking away driver's licenses and cars, more asset confiscation, exit programs and the deportation of repeat offenders.

The CDU wants to be tough on criminal clans. Clans here are large families in which some members commit crimes. The police should check them often. The state should take away cars and money from crimes. Serious offenders should have to leave Germany.

According to the platform, Bremen is one of Germany's strongholds of clan crime, which has spread into many lines of business. Criminal clan members would lose their driver's licenses and vehicles, and sham vehicle registrations would be stopped. Data from the Federal Motor Transport Authority and welfare offices would be matched automatically. Investigations into money laundering, tax fraud, corruption and drug trafficking would be stepped up, and for assets of unclear origin the burden of proof would be reversed. Exit programs are aimed mainly at women and children from clan families. Repeat offenders would be deported and barred from re-entry.

The CDU wants to put health and youth protection at the center of drug policy and expand support services. At the same time, police are to break up dealer networks and punish all drug offenses, especially around the train station.

The CDU wants to give more help to people with drug problems. There should be more counseling and therapy. At the same time, the police should be tough on drug dealers. This applies most of all near the train station.

The platform says those affected and their families should not be left alone. Education efforts would be stepped up, and counseling, support and therapy would be expanded. Through continuous targeted operations, the CDU wants to uncover and break up dealer networks. All drug offenses would be punished consistently in order to curb trafficking, particularly around the train station.

The CDU wants to bring police, prosecutors and youth services together with independent providers in one place. The aim is to fight juvenile crime effectively and stop criminal careers early.

The CDU wants to create a House of Juvenile Justice in Bremen. Police, prosecutors and youth services would work under one roof. Together they would deal with young offenders. This should keep young people from becoming lasting criminals.

According to the platform, the agencies involved so far cooperate only digitally; in the future they would actually share a building. Independent social service providers would be included. Physical proximity is meant to ensure short lines of communication, regular exchange and help that is directly reachable. The CDU expects this to allow tailored responses to the varied causes of juvenile offending.

The CDU wants to push at the federal level for cyberbullying to become a separate offense in the Criminal Code. Bremen would then equip police and courts so that such acts can be prosecuted.

The CDU wants to make cyberbullying its own crime. Cyberbullying means harassing or insulting others online or by phone. A federal law would have to change for this. Police and courts in Bremen should get enough resources for it.

The platform points out that one in five students is currently affected. It defines cyberbullying as harassment, coercion or defamation using electronic means of communication, with psychological and physical consequences for victims. The CDU seeks an amendment to the federal Criminal Code. Afterward, the state would provide resources for police and the judiciary to ensure prosecution.

The CDU wants an immediate program to invest in fire department vehicles, buildings and training and to hire considerably more staff. Emergency personnel are to be protected from attacks, and volunteers in aid organizations given equal legal status.

The CDU wants to spend more money on the fire department. There should be new vehicles, repaired buildings and more staff. Firefighters should reach the scene within 10 minutes at most. The CDU also wants to protect rescue workers from attacks.

The fire academy would get a new site, more staff, and equipment and rooms for all training modules. With more personnel, the CDU wants eight firefighters with a fire engine and a ladder truck to arrive anywhere in Bremen within ten minutes; the long-term goal is eight minutes with ten firefighters. The entry pay grade for professional firefighters would rise to A8, regular promotions would be introduced, and shortening training to 18 months is under consideration. For the volunteer fire department, the annual cap on the travel allowance for drills would be lifted. De-escalation and self-defense training and "blue light days," including in schools, are planned for emergency personnel. Volunteers in aid organizations would be included in the state's emergency assistance law.

The CDU wants offenders to be brought before a court immediately when the evidence is clear, and to provide more staff for this. In the platform's view, long proceedings weaken deterrence and trust in the rule of law. Foreign offenders who are required to leave the country would be deported.

The CDU wants faster criminal trials. If a crime is clearly proven, the offender should see a judge right away. There should be more staff for this. Foreign offenders with no right to stay should return to their home countries.

The platform criticizes the length of proceedings, especially for everyday crime. Penal orders and accelerated proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure are to be used more often. The CDU also wants to expand investigations into money laundering, tax fraud, corruption and drug trafficking and to confiscate more criminal assets. Foreign offenders under an enforceable obligation to leave would be consistently returned to their countries of origin.

The CDU wants to keep and strengthen Bremen's State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Police and the intelligence service would use information in shared databases, and the service would get every intelligence tool permitted in other states.

The CDU wants to strengthen the Verfassungsschutz in Bremen. That is an intelligence service that watches enemies of democracy. It should work more closely with the police and share data. It should be allowed to use more surveillance tools.

The platform opposes left-wing, right-wing and Islamist extremism alike. The rule separating police and domestic intelligence (Trennungsgebot) would be redesigned so that it no longer hampers cooperation. Information would be shared in databases and be easier to use than before. The legal basis would be widened so that the service can use the same tools, online and offline, as in other German states. Exit programs are planned for members of extremist scenes.

The CDU wants to equip disaster response units according to need, modernize their bases and expand the warning system with sirens. Annual drills and a parliamentary study commission on crises are meant to improve preparation for emergencies.

The CDU wants to equip disaster response teams better. There should be more sirens to warn people. Helpers should practice for emergencies every year. A commission in parliament should work out a plan for crises.

State units would receive the materials and equipment that the protection plans call for; regarding the Federal Agency for Technical Relief, the CDU wants to talk with the federal government. Cooperation agreements for disasters would be made with surrounding counties and towns, and consumables purchased as uniformly as possible. By the nationwide warning day on September 14, 2023, Bremen should be able to sound an acoustic signal. Following Bremerhaven's example, both cities would hold yearly alternating drills for command staff and field units, including aid organizations. A study commission (Enquetekommission) would develop a strategy for crisis management, resilience and prevention.

The CDU wants to secure energy, water and transport facilities with automated surveillance technology and a coordinated guard plan. The state would also promptly get a cyber defense strategy, with implementation starting in 2023.

The CDU wants to protect important facilities better. These include facilities for power, water, gas and transport. Cameras and motion detectors should watch them. Bremen should also get a plan against attacks from the internet.

Video and motion detectors would be used wherever this helps protect the facilities. Police, site security, the public order service and operators' private security firms would draw up a joint guard plan that also covers protection from the water side. Mutual dependencies between facilities would be analyzed and reduced where the public sector is concerned. Publications by the state, the cities and their companies would be checked for information on weak points and cleaned up. The platform justifies the cyber defense strategy with the growing threat of cybercrime.