The equipment for the Thuringian police decided by the state parliament will be more expensive than previously planned. One reason for this is the requirement that these small cameras should automatically start recording when a police officer draws his service weapon, a spokesman for the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior told the dpa news agency.
Acquisition costs significantly higher
Purchasing the corresponding sensors and IT systems increases the financial requirements significantly. A sum in the seven-digit range is probably necessary for the purchase of the technology. Until recently, the cost estimate was still in the mid-six-digit range, it said.
The expected increase in costs is also a reason why the procurement of this technology has not yet started, said the spokesman. “If these funds are granted by the budget legislator, a call for tenders is planned for 2024.”
The left are pushing for an early tender
The Thuringian Left, on the other hand, are pushing for the procurement of this technology to begin as soon as possible. After a compromise between the red-red-green government factions and the CDU parliamentary group on the amendment of the Thuringian Police Tasks Act 2022, police officers are to be equipped with bodycams across the board. The union had been asking for this for a long time. However, at the urging of Red-Red-Green, the majority of MPs also decided at the time that the body cams should switch on automatically from December 31, 2024 when police officers pull their service pistols out of their holsters.
Additional equipment required
Bodycams are small cameras that police officers wear on their uniforms. With them, what happens in front of the officers can be recorded in image and sound. The use of this technology has been discussed in Thuringia for years. Proponents argue, among other things, that the cameras would have a de-escalating effect on people who would otherwise be aggressive towards police officers.
Critics complain that according to the specifications of the Police Responsibilities Act, the police officers themselves have so far decided when to switch on the devices and when not – the Thuringian compromise focuses on this problem.
The spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior said that there was no previous experience nationwide with such a bodycam system, which is now to be introduced in Thuringia as a result of the political compromise. That makes the design of a tender complex. First of all, a market investigation process is necessary, with which the ministry wants to get an overview of which systems are available at all and what the technology can do in each case. “The aim of the measures is to develop a promising tender for an overall system.”
Bilay: There are enough providers on the market for this
The domestic spokesman for the Left Group, Sascha Bilay, on the other hand, is pushing for a speedy tender. There’s not much time left until the end of 2024, he said. In any case, parliamentary resolutions for the house of Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) would have to be binding and implemented quickly. “That’s why you have to activate the tender now,” said Bilay.
According to Bilay himself, he was only recently in contact with a manufacturer of bodycam technology. Not only from this manufacturer there are already market-ready solutions with which bodycams can detect when a police officer draws his weapon. For this purpose, a sensor is screwed onto the holster of the weapon, which communicates with the body cam via Bluetooth. “It takes five minutes if you have the right screwdriver.”
Bilay also pointed out that in addition to this manufacturer, at least three other companies had declared during a hearing in the state parliament that they could provide the technology for the automated triggering of body cameras. From his point of view, the ministry’s argument that there must first be a comprehensive market investigation process for the procurement of body cameras and the associated technology is presumed, said Bilay. “I suppose part of it is reluctance.”