CDU on public safety

The CDU wants to better protect older people from fraud and crime. A future commission on "Safety in Old Age" is to develop proposals, and the network of safety advisers for seniors is to grow across all of Hesse.

The CDU wants to protect older people better. For example from the grandchild scam and from fraud on the internet. A commission should collect ideas on this. There should be safety advisers for seniors everywhere in Hesse. The police should continue their work against scammers.

The program cites the grandchild scam, online fraud and the exploitation of supposed weaknesses as examples. The commission is to look at social, perceived and actual safety. Building on its findings, safety advisers are to be available statewide as local contacts. The police are to continue their work against phone and WhatsApp scams, burglaries, robberies and bag theft.

The CDU wants to raise the number of police officers beyond 16,000 and modernize their equipment. Police should be more visible in cities and rural areas. The stated goal is less crime and a higher clearance rate.

The CDU wants to hire more police officers. The police should get better equipment. This includes body cameras and stun devices. People should see police on the street more often. A fourth helicopter should be added.

Officers are to get more body cams and tasers, and in-car cameras will be examined. The riot police would be strengthened so regular duty is less burdened by special deployments and overtime. The state criminal police office would grow as a central agency, get a coordination unit for European investigation teams, and pursue online hate with Hessen3C and ZIT. Buildings will be modernized, the air unit gets a fourth helicopter, and the dog and mounted units, police orchestra and volunteer police service remain. For specialists, the CDU plans specialized career tracks, an expansion of the HöMS university and a course leading to civil-servant status.

The CDU wants to continue digitalizing the police, with new software, apps for use in the field and a police cloud. Large volumes of data from investigations are to be analyzed largely automatically. Virtual reality is to be used more in training.

The CDU wants to make the police more digital. Officers should get good apps and software. Computers should sort through large amounts of data quickly. One office should be able to unlock locked phones and computers. Officers should also train with VR headsets.

The police headquarters for technology would be strengthened, the "Innovation HUB 110" develops field applications, and data intake is to be digital where possible. The CDU is examining a central unit to unlock data carriers and IT systems relevant as evidence; the results would be available regionally via the cloud. The platform cites the fight against abuse imagery, drug and organized crime, and online hate as the reason. Also planned are partnerships with research institutions in Hesse, driving simulators and realistic training for conflict situations and dealing with people in mental health crises.

The CDU wants to adapt Hesse's police law (HSOG) to the digital world and advocates data retention. Automated data analysis, including with artificial intelligence, is to help fight crime. Under the platform's guiding principle, the more serious the offense, the more data protection should yield.

The CDU wants to give police more access to data. Phone and internet companies should store connection data in advance. Computer programs should analyze data automatically. For very serious crimes, police should also be able to read encrypted messages. The CDU says data protection must not protect offenders.

The CDU rejects the quick-freeze approach favored by the federal government, in which data is only secured once there is a suspicion. Better data sharing between security agencies and other bodies such as social and health authorities will be examined. With a court order and within narrow limits, authorities should be allowed to access existing private audio and video systems, for example for home surveillance. For the most serious crimes, encrypted telecommunications should be open to monitoring. Toll and traffic monitoring data should be available for criminal prosecution.

The CDU wants to make Hesse a leader in drones, drone tracking and autonomous flight. A drone detection system is to be built step by step, and security forces are to use drones more often on a clear legal basis.

The CDU wants to build a system that spots drones in the sky. It should start in the big city regions first. The police should use more drones themselves. Airports should be protected from illegal drones.

Construction of the detection system starts in the metropolitan regions and is to comply with data protection. Drone use is to be regulated by law. The purchase of more robots to support and protect emergency forces will also be examined. Critical infrastructure such as airports is to be protected from unauthorized overflights by technical means.

The CDU wants to reverse the burden of proof when seizing assets from organized crime and create a legal basis for seizing cryptocurrencies. A cross-agency task force is to step up enforcement. Fast-track proceedings are to apply to juvenile repeat offenders.

The CDU wants to act harder against organized crime. Suspects should prove that their assets are legal. Police should also be able to seize digital money. A team from several agencies should investigate together. Young repeat offenders should get to court faster.

The task force would consist of tax investigators from the finance ministry, experts from the public prosecutors' offices and detectives from the state criminal police office. The platform considers the seizure of cryptocurrencies especially necessary for fighting organized crime. For juvenile repeat offenders, Hesse's judiciary is to adopt the Neukölln model, which speeds up proceedings through special rules and prioritization.

The CDU wants to keep using video surveillance and add facial recognition for manhunts. Weapon and alcohol ban zones, more public-order staff in the evening and better lighting are meant to raise actual and perceived safety in public spaces.

The CDU wants more cameras in public places. The cameras should also be able to recognize faces. This way police want to find wanted people faster. There should be more zones where weapons are banned. More public-order staff should be on buses and trains in the evening.

The security partnerships with KOMPASS municipalities continue, and the "local police officer" concept is expanded. The duties of municipal public-order services are to be reviewed and defined with the municipal associations. Neighborhood management, cleanliness and emergency call points are also mentioned. Municipalities should consider weapon ban zones more often. The security portal and defect reporting tool will be expanded, with anonymized data guiding police deployment; at the federal level, the CDU wants renewed KfW funds for burglary protection.

The CDU announces a safety package for women. Contact and restraining orders are to be monitored with electronic ankle bracelets. According to the platform, women should be able to feel safe in every situation.

The CDU wants to protect women better from violence. Some offenders are not allowed to come near a woman. An electronic ankle monitor should check this. It is a device on the leg that reports the location.

The platform states that violence against women will not be tolerated. Electronic monitoring is meant to ensure that orders are actually obeyed. The CDU also mentions education and free victim counseling for women from all cultural backgrounds.

The CDU wants to expand crime prevention with a particular focus on children and young people. Programs in schools are to be set up with the state prevention council. Better media literacy is meant to protect against abuse imagery and cybergrooming.

The CDU wants to prevent crime. Children and teens should learn at school how to protect themselves. They should know how to use the internet safely. There should be self-defense courses. People should be able to send tips to the police online more easily.

Training in self-confidence, self-determination and self-defense is planned for schools, workplaces and municipalities, along with more awareness of violence in care settings. The umbrella brand "Gemeinsam sicher in Hessen," which bundles all police prevention offerings, is to grow. Through the security portal, tips are to arrive digitally and be routed automatically to the responsible agency.

The CDU wants to overhaul the system of police allowances and raise the general police service allowance. Officers who perform especially demanding duties are to receive an appropriate allowance. The job is also to become more attractive through modern workplaces and relief from administrative work.

The CDU wants new rules for police allowances. An allowance is extra money on top of pay. Officers with very hard duties should get more. Police should also have less office work.

The program names rotating shift work and the review of abuse imagery as especially demanding duties. Staff are to be able to save up vacation days for childcare and for caring for relatives; a federal rule is to be adopted into state law for this. Administrative assistants are to relieve officers of general paperwork. The center for police psychological services is to be strengthened, and members of the Wachpolizei (auxiliary police) are to be offered suitable positions. A "Hessian Day of Emergency Services" is to publicly honor the work of police, firefighters, and rescue workers.

The CDU wants to push at the federal level for a minimum prison sentence of six months for attacks on emergency personnel. A fine would then no longer be possible. The program argues that society has a duty to protect those who protect it.

The CDU wants tougher punishment for attacks on emergency workers. These are police, firefighters and rescue workers, for example. The sentence should be at least 6 months in prison. A fine should no longer be enough.

The change would have to be made in federal law, and the CDU says it will keep advocating for it there. For attacks from an ambush or with especially serious consequences, the minimum sentence is to be one year. The program describes the tougher penalty as a clear signal and says Hesse should not see "Berlin conditions." In the party's view, violence against emergency personnel is unacceptable under any circumstances.

The CDU wants to give the Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz (state domestic intelligence agency) more staff and revise the law governing it. In the program's view, a democracy able to defend itself needs a stronger early-warning system against extremism and organized crime.

The CDU wants to strengthen the Verfassungsschutz. This agency watches enemies of democracy. It should get more staff. The law for the agency should also change.

Rules on data sharing in Hesse's intelligence law are to be changed so that security agencies can cooperate more closely. The agency is to get its own digitalization program to speed up its work. Together with municipalities, it is to expand the early-warning system so extremist activity is detected sooner everywhere. The CDU wants to break up extremist structures and pursue bans on associations. The agency's prevention work is to grow, and schools are to inform students early about extremist groups and their propaganda.

The CDU wants to act against right-wing and left-wing extremism, Islamism, and antisemitism and keep prevention funding at its current level. The program calls right-wing extremism the greatest current threat to democracy.

The CDU wants to fight all kinds of extremism. Extremists reject democracy. The CDU says the biggest danger now comes from right-wing extremists. The state should keep spending a lot on prevention.

The special police unit BAO Hessen R against right-wing extremism is to be expanded. The domestic intelligence agency is to receive the resources it needs for prevention work against left-wing extremism. The CDU wants to counter Islamist fundamentalism and the emergence of parallel societies early on. The state program against extremism is to be developed further, the reporting office HessenGegenHetze is to continue, and an interactive online information portal is to be created, mainly for students. Public money is not to go to enemies of the constitution, including groups that, in the party's view, only pose as opponents of extremism.

The CDU wants members of anti-constitutional organizations to be deemed unfit to hold weapons without exception. The waiting periods after which former extremists may own firearms again are to be doubled. Sport shooters and hunters are not to be placed under general suspicion.

The CDU says extremists should not have guns. Members of anti-constitutional groups should get no permit. Former members should wait twice as long as now. Hunters and sport shooters should not face general suspicion.

Membership in an anti-constitutional organization is to result in a finding of unreliability that cannot be rebutted. Anyone who belonged to a banned association or an unconstitutional party, or who actively works against the constitutional order, is to be barred from weapons for a long time. Enforcement of weapons law against extremists is to be tightened and the responsible agencies better connected. On general tightening of gun laws, however, the CDU wants to proceed with restraint.

The CDU wants crimes to be prosecuted faster and more strictly, on the streets and online. Minimum sentences are to apply to blocking emergency routes and to blowing up ATMs. Fast-track proceedings are to be used wherever possible.

The CDU wants to prosecute crimes faster. People who block emergency routes should get at least a prison sentence. Blowing up ATMs should also carry a higher minimum sentence. Fast court proceedings should happen more often.

Special units with sufficient staff are planned for fast-track proceedings under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Crimes by so-called climate activists are to be prosecuted consistently. Criminal profits are to be seized through asset confiscation. Special units in all prosecutors' offices are to pursue attacks on public officials, and the central office for combating internet crime (ZIT) is to get more staff. Administrative fine proceedings are to be sped up, and the CDU wants to examine whether criminal law must be expanded to address the spread of "fake news."

The CDU wants IP addresses to be stored on a mandatory basis for a limited period. It points to the leeway the European Court of Justice has left for this. According to the program, this is needed to solve serious crimes such as child abuse.

The CDU wants IP addresses to be stored. An IP address shows which connection someone used online. Storage should be required and last only a set time. The CDU wants to solve serious crimes this way, such as child abuse.

Storage is to be limited in time and serve mainly to fight serious crime. The program cites child pornography and child abuse as examples. In addition, the CDU wants to use the EU's e-evidence regulation, which governs cross-border access to electronic evidence. Data exchange between police, the judiciary, and the domestic intelligence agency is to be improved legally and technically, including across state lines.

The CDU wants to give more support to victim assistance and victim protection and anchor the state's victims' commissioner in law. Counseling centers and women's shelters are to be available statewide. Prevention programs for young people and for protecting children are to grow as well.

The CDU wants to help crime victims more. The state's victims' commissioner should get a legal basis. There should be counseling and women's shelters all over Hesse. Children should get special protection in court.

Under victim protection, the program lists support for witnesses, child-friendly court proceedings, and effective witness protection in serious crimes. Hatred directed at local politicians is to become a focus of prevention work. The Häuser des Jugendrechts (youth justice centers), where prosecutors, police, and juvenile court assistance work together, are to get new locations. More Childhood Houses are planned for abused and mistreated children. The state prevention council and "Teen Courts," in which young people hear minor offenses by their peers, are to be strengthened.

The CDU wants to improve working conditions and pay for prison staff. Prisons are to be kept and modernized, and there should be enough prison places.

The CDU wants to make work in prisons better. Staff should get better pay. They should also get more training. Prisons will be modernized. There should be enough places for prisoners.

The program sees good staffing as the precondition for public safety and for rehabilitation. Besides more staff, it plans targeted training, for example on dealing with prisoners with mental health problems, as well as language courses. Hesse's prisons are to be kept and further modernized. Medical care in prisons is to be expanded through telemedicine.

The CDU wants to focus more on reintegrating offenders while expanding electronic location monitoring for people under post-release supervision. Radicalization in prisons is to be fought more strongly.

Offenders should find their way back into society after prison. For this, the CDU wants more language courses and courses on the rule of law. More released prisoners should wear an electronic ankle tag. The CDU also wants to act against radicals in prison.

For rehabilitation, the program lists democracy and language training and more rule-of-law courses in prisons. Under post-release supervision (Führungsaufsicht), electronic location monitoring is to be reviewed and used more often. The NeDiS network against radicalization among prisoners is to be strengthened, and the CDU wants to stop payments from radical groups to inmates. Prisons and municipalities are also to cooperate more closely on preparing releases, and independent offender support and volunteering in prisons and probation are to be strengthened.

The CDU wants to continue funding for fire engines, fire stations and disaster-relief facilities and adjust it to rising prices. At the same time, regulations are to be reviewed and volunteers relieved of administrative work.

The CDU wants to keep giving a lot of money to fire services and disaster protection. The money is for vehicles and buildings. There should be less red tape. Volunteers should have less paperwork. Help should still arrive within 10 minutes.

Funding for fire service vehicles and buildings is to stay at its current peak and follow price increases; the guaranteed sum for fire protection is to grow. Counties and independent cities are to get state help for building and enlarging disaster-relief facilities. Regulations are to be reviewed, administrative tasks are to move from volunteers to municipal administrations, and the state wants to buy more vehicles centrally and provide model tender specifications. The recognition bonus for long-serving emergency volunteers continues, and the 10-minute response target stays in place.

The CDU wants to expand the state fire service school and make training more digital and flexible. Children's and youth fire brigades and fire safety education are to keep receiving strong support.

The CDU wants to make the school for firefighters in Hesse bigger. Courses should also be offered digitally and locally. That way training fits better with family and work. The CDU also wants to win children and young people for the fire service.

Municipalities are to keep paying no costs, fees or reimbursements for training at the state fire service school. In the future, courses should also be available locally and with virtual reality so that training fits better with family and work. Children's and youth fire brigades, state publicity campaigns and fire safety education in schools and kindergartens are to be developed further. The CDU wants to examine how fire stations in town centers can be kept and rigid retirement rules loosened; emergency power connections for fire stations will continue to be funded.

The CDU wants to step up preparation for emergencies and set up a crisis and resilience council for this purpose. Shelters, stockpiles, emergency power and warning systems are to be expanded, and people should be better able to protect themselves.

The CDU wants to prepare Hesse better for emergencies. A new council will write guidelines for this. There should be more shelters and more supplies. Sirens and a warning app will alert people. Each year there will be a civil protection day.

The new council is to take the lead in drawing up guidelines. Shelters are to be built or brought back into use, and relief supplies, emergency generators and fuel are to be kept ready locally. Siren funding continues, the hessenWARN app is to become a comprehensive warning and information tool, and the integrated control centers are to be kept technically up to date. The number of emergency generators in disaster protection is to rise so that hospitals, for example, can be supplied during regional power outages. An annual civil protection day is planned to strengthen self-protection and self-help.

The CDU wants to set up security management for critical infrastructure and offer municipalities a resilience seal. With the ESOC space operations center, Darmstadt is to become a European hub for crisis resilience and for protecting space infrastructure against cyberattacks.

Power, water and data networks matter to everyone. The CDU wants to protect them better from outages and attacks. Towns and cities should be able to get a seal for good preparation. In Darmstadt, a center will protect satellites from attacks over the internet.

The security management is to be developed with experts and cover threats such as power outages, cyberattacks, data breaches and terrorism. Municipalities should be able to obtain a seal called KOMPASS PLUS, modeled on the KOMPASS program. Security agencies are to get shared data spaces that also include businesses and infrastructure operators. The CDU backs a cybersecurity operations center at ESOC and wants to attract further projects there, for example on precautions against space debris and solar storms.

The CDU wants every crime against public employees and local politicians to be reported to the authorities. The employer is to support those affected. Support services for victims of violence are to be strengthened.

Some people attack public workers or local politicians. The CDU wants every such crime to be reported. The employer should help the people affected. Victims of violence should get more help.

According to the program, people who work for the public or are active in local politics deserve special appreciation and protection. Every crime against them is to be reported. The public employer is to stand by those affected. Services that help victims cope with the violence they experienced are to be expanded.