SPD on democracy and the state

The SPD wants to base the justice system's staffing plans on the nationwide calculation system PEBB§Y and quickly hire the missing staff at the public prosecutor's office and the ordinary courts. More legal traineeship places are to be created for young lawyers.

The SPD wants more staff for courts and prosecutors. A calculation system shows how many people are missing. The SPD wants to plan jobs based on it. There should be more training places for young lawyers. The prosecutor's office in Bremerhaven should become stronger.

According to the platform, the prosecutor's office mainly lacks mid-level staff, but also prosecutors and judicial officers. The University of Bremen is to be allowed to award its own degree to law students who fail only the state examination. The ongoing restructuring of the prosecutor's office is to be completed together with staff representatives. The Bremerhaven branch would manage its resources more independently, also for investigations in the port. Hate crime is also to be prosecuted far more intensively.

The SPD wants to gradually eliminate understaffing at the civil courts, especially the local courts (Amtsgerichte). To do so, more court personnel are to be trained. The goal is accessible and timely access to justice.

Bremen's civil courts have too few staff. This is especially true for the local courts. The SPD wants to change this step by step. Bremen should train more court workers.

According to the platform, the criminal courts have been adequately staffed in recent years, based on the PEBB§Y staffing calculation system. The SPD wants to respond quickly to new needs there with staff and resources. For the civil courts, especially the local courts, the platform sees understaffing. It is to be reduced gradually, mainly by expanding training for judicial officers (Rechtspfleger) and court clerks.

The SPD wants to set up a central office where people involved in legal proceedings can ask about the status of their case. It also wants to examine whether victim support can be strengthened through cooperation with Lower Saxony.

The SPD wants a central help desk at the justice system. People can ask there about their case. For example: How far along is the investigation? The SPD also wants to review help for crime victims.

The help desk is to take phone and written inquiries and answer them directly, for example whether a criminal complaint has been received or when a trial can be expected. On victim support, the SPD wants to evaluate whether close cooperation with the Stiftung Opferhilfe Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony victim support foundation) would strengthen existing structures. The platform lists the duties of the health senator, the state victims' commissioner, psychosocial trial support and nonprofit providers among them.

The SPD stands by its goal of a parity law that is compatible with the constitution. It is meant to ensure gender equity in all bodies under public law.

The SPD wants a parity law. Parity means women and men are equally represented. This should apply to all public bodies. The law must fit the constitution.

The program points to Article 2 of Bremen's state constitution, which enshrines gender equity. The SPD regards gender equity and diversity as essential conditions for the success of political and social measures. The law is to be developed in a way that holds up under constitutional review.

The SPD wants to support the Beiräte (district councils) and Ortsämter (district offices) and relieve them of administrative work. The law governing the district councils is to be reviewed continuously and adjusted in the councils' favor where needed. A digital committee management system is meant to make the volunteer work easier.

Beiräte are elected councils for the districts of Bremen. The SPD wants to strengthen these councils and the district offices. They should have less paperwork. They should get digital tools. Meetings by video should stay possible.

The district offices are to be well staffed; the platform sees the existing pool of stand-in staff as a good basis. Council members are to receive training. The SPD wants to recruit young people, people with disabilities and people with a migration background in particular. A digital committee management system modeled on that of the state parliament is to be provided, along with tools for video and hybrid meetings. For citizen participation projects, councils and district offices are to get professional support as needed.

The SPD wants to expand citizen participation in Bremen. The public list of the Senate's projects is to become more informative, and citizens' forums with randomly selected members are to be tested further. The party wants to pay particular attention to making sure all groups in society can take part.

The SPD wants citizens to have more say. A list shows the plans of the Senate, Bremen's government. This list should get better. The SPD wants to keep testing citizens' forums. Randomly chosen people take part in them.

The platform cites the Senate's project list and a coordination office in the Senate Chancellery as the existing foundation. Citizens' forums with random selection could not be fully carried out so far because of the pandemic and are to be tested further. Completed participation projects are to be reviewed with outside help. Groups that rarely get involved on their own are also to be included. The SPD is open to further new formats.

The SPD wants to set up a youth council or a comparable youth forum in every district and support it with full-time staff. Certain bills and government actions are to be checked in the future for their effects on young people. The platform refers to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The SPD wants youth councils in all districts. Young people can help decide things there. Paid staff should help them. New laws should be checked: What do they mean for young people?

The youth councils' ways of working are to become youth-friendly and easy to access, and their projects are to be visibly labeled. A conference of youth councils is to connect the bodies across districts. Cooperation with student councils and youth and trainee representatives is to improve, backed by a statewide funding program. Citizen participation projects are to actively seek out young people's involvement. The SPD also plans a further conceptual step to involve children and young people more in citywide and statewide issues.

The SPD wants to keep supporting youth associations in the state of Bremen and substantially increase their funding, also to offset inflation. The volunteer card (Ehrenamtscard) is to become more attractive for young people through additional discounts. In the party's view, the associations make an important contribution to democratic education.

The SPD wants to give youth associations more money. The money should also make up for higher prices. Young volunteers should get more discounts. The SPD says youth associations are important for democracy.

The platform describes youth associations as places where young people learn democracy, self-organization and responsibility. It also sees them as important for integrating young refugees. The SPD welcomes the linking of the youth leader card (JULEICA) to the volunteer card. Further discounts suited to young people are meant to make the card more attractive and to recognize their volunteer work.

The SPD wants to make it easier for volunteer initiatives and self-help groups to get funding. Volunteering should become more visible, and groups that rarely volunteer today should find easier ways in.

Many people help for free in clubs and groups. The SPD wants to make this easier for them. Applying for money should be simpler. Volunteers should get more advice.

For small grants, application and accounting procedures are to be simplified. Based on the volunteering strategy commissioned in 2022, money is to be made available in the following years, for instance for a "House of Engagement." Projects such as service learning in schools and micro-grants are to be supported. Organizations that advise volunteers on funding, founding associations and board work are to be strengthened considerably.

The SPD rejects a mandatory year of service for everyone. In its view, voluntary service only keeps its value if it stays voluntary. Counseling for young volunteers is to continue.

Some people want a required year of service for all young people. The SPD is against this. Service should stay voluntary. Young volunteers should keep getting advice and support.

The platform praises the several hundred young people in Bremen and Bremerhaven who do a voluntary year in areas such as social work, ecology, culture, sports or politics. Because more volunteers come from difficult life situations, the organizations need more time to support them. The counseling service set up under the post-COVID "catch-up program" is therefore to continue in a suitable form. The SPD views the discounted youth transit ticket positively.

The SPD wants public offices to handle requests quickly and competently and aims for an online citizen account modeled on Denmark's. The administration is to work more in projects and see itself as a service provider.

Public offices should handle requests faster. The SPD wants many more services online. There should also be mobile services in the neighborhoods. People who must go to an office should get an appointment quickly. The administration should see itself as a service for everyone.

Plans include a major expansion of online services, trials of mobile services in neighborhoods and, on request, delivery of ID documents by bike courier. The new citizen service center in the city center is to become the showcase of citizen services; where an in-person visit is still needed, there should be plenty of appointments and fast service. The SPD wants to examine how the administrations in Bremen and Bremerhaven can be developed further. The focus is on project work with clear goals, flat hierarchies and cooperation across departments, plus a stronger orientation toward citizens, businesses and institutions as customers. The platform says fast decisions matter both for people who need support and for industry and business.