CDU on public safety

The CDU wants the police to be more visible across the whole state and aims to double the number of Bürgerpolizisten (community police officers). An investment drive is to improve police buildings, training sites and equipment.

The CDU wants more police in all parts of Saxony. There should be twice as many community officers. These are officers who are assigned to one local area. The police should get better buildings and good equipment. Officers should be better protected.

The benchmark is the findings of the expert commission that evaluated Saxony's police; its targets are to be met in the next legislative term. Staffing levels are to stay stable despite demographic change, with training reviewed continuously. Needs in housing, training facilities and technology are to be assessed and met through investment. Officers are to receive cut-resistant clothing.

The CDU demands that Saxony's police and domestic intelligence service be allowed to intercept encrypted communication at the source and to covertly search devices. It argues that the state must be technically on par with criminal networks and enemies of the constitution.

The CDU wants to give the police new powers. Police should be allowed to read messages on phones. They should also be allowed to search computers in secret. The same should apply to the domestic intelligence service. The CDU says this helps the state fight criminals.

The powers are to be written into Saxony's police law and its law on the Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence service). Source telecom surveillance captures communication on the device before it is encrypted; a remote search reads out stored data. Beyond that, the CDU wants to secure further digital powers for averting dangers. The party says there should be no spaces online where crime is tolerated.

The CDU wants to expand the Fahndungspolizei (police search and interdiction units) to push back drug crime, irregular entry and human smuggling. Near the border, joint search operations with neighboring countries are to be stepped up.

The CDU wants to strengthen the search police. These officers look for offenders in a targeted way. They should act against drug dealing. They should also act against smugglers and unauthorized entry. At the border, Saxony should work more closely with its neighbors.

The structures of these units are to grow and the search teams are to be given more weight. A statewide coordination office will be set up. In the border area, the CDU relies on more joint search operations with neighboring states.

The CDU wants to act against every form of extremism and expand the state's domestic intelligence office for that purpose. The strategy against right-wing extremism is to be applied to left-wing extremism as well, and municipalities get support, especially in dealing with the Reichsbürger scene.

The CDU wants to act against all extremists. The domestic intelligence service should get stronger for this. It should spot dangers early. The CDU wants to use the plan against right-wing extremism against left-wing extremism too. Towns should get help. Police and the intelligence service should also deal with attacks from the internet.

The Verfassungsschutz (domestic intelligence service) is to become a modern agency on par with its federal and state counterparts and to work more closely with the state police, including against what is called delegitimization of the state. The expert network on extremism will be extended to the municipal level through a new legal basis. Police and intelligence are to be equipped for cyber defense and counterespionage, and a Saxon cyber resilience center is to coordinate cybersecurity. The ASSKomm project for safe municipalities and the protection of officeholders will continue. The CDU will examine how towns can raise the sense of safety through measures such as lighting.

The CDU wants convicted foreign nationals to serve their prison sentences in their home countries more often. For EU prisoners, existing European law is to be applied consistently; for other countries, the federal government is to conclude agreements.

The CDU wants foreign offenders to serve prison time in their home country more often. There are already rules for EU citizens. These rules should be used. The federal government should make deals with other countries.

For prisoners from EU states, the CDU demands consistent application of the framework decision on the European transfer of sentence enforcement. For countries outside the EU, it will press the federal government for corresponding agreements. The plan is linked to easing the burden on Saxony's prison service.

The CDU wants to make civil protection and disaster response more effective and equip it for current challenges. It points to wars, pandemics and disasters that it says require greater resilience from the state and the public. Plans include a resilience strategy and continued support for fire departments.

The CDU wants Saxony to be better prepared for crises and disasters. There should be a plan for dangers across the whole state. Fire departments should get good equipment and training. People should learn more about preparing for crises.

The plans include a Saxon resilience strategy and a statewide hazard and risk plan as the basis for preparedness concepts developed with aid organizations. The state fire and disaster protection school in Nardt would be developed further, an institute for civil protection would be set up, and the wildfire competence center would grow. The more than 40,000 volunteer firefighters are to remain well equipped and trained; fire trucks would be purchased centrally. First-responder systems are to be adequately funded and current funding for fire protection, rescue services and disaster response maintained. The CDU wants deeper cooperation among rescue services with Poland and Czechia, and the state will keep repairing damage from old mining.

The CDU wants to push for harsher penalties for rape and domestic violence. It argues that many women in Saxony experience various forms of violence and wants to make implementing the Istanbul Convention a top priority.

The CDU wants harder punishments for rape. The same goes for violence at home. Many women in Saxony suffer violence. Women should feel safe everywhere.

The platform's stated goal is for women in Saxony to feel safe both when out and at home. The Istanbul Convention is a Council of Europe treaty on protecting women from violence; implementing it has the highest priority for the CDU. Criminal law is a federal matter, so the party announces that it will advocate for tougher rules.

The CDU wants insults, threats and other crimes on social networks to be prosecuted consistently. It also wants to better protect journalists in Saxony and guarantee reporting at rallies and major events.

Laws apply on the internet too. People who insult or threaten others there should be punished. The CDU also wants to protect journalists. They should be able to report safely from demonstrations.

According to the platform, freedom of expression ends at hate and incitement and where human dignity is violated. In the CDU's view, only consistent prosecution can secure a democratic culture of debate in the long run. The platform derives the protection of journalists from press freedom, which it says gives the state a duty to protect.