Video Surveillance in Munich

Below you will find information on public video surveillance in our Bavarian state capital. If you would like to learn about the possibilities of installing video cameras and security technology by the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Munich on your private property or company premises, you will find the relevant topic at the following link on our website: Installation of Video Surveillance by Kurtz Detective Agency Munich.

Munich Has “Eyes” | Official Monitoring of Citizens

In addition to historic buildings, museums and cultural events, Munich is particularly renowned for its many parks. The largest of these is the Englischer Garten, which, with an area of 4.17 km², is larger than Central Park in New York. The Hofgarten, Nymphenburg Palace Park and the Old Botanical Garden near Stachus also offer residents opportunities for recreation and leisure, alongside nature and landscape conservation areas.

What many people do not realise, however, is that they are never unobserved – and this does not refer to the surveillance operations of our detectives in Munich, but rather to the 9,200 cameras (as of 2015) distributed throughout Munich that observe everyone and everything. Surveillance systems installed on private and commercial properties are not even included in this figure. No fewer than 4,400 cameras are operated by the Munich Transport Company and Deutsche Bahn, while the ministries of the Free State of Bavaria also have their own “eyes in Munich”.

Permanent State Surveillance as a Cost-Saving Measure

In view of this extensive surveillance, which one would otherwise expect only in Great Britain, several questions arise for the unsuspecting resident or visitor to the city:

• Is this even permitted (keyword: personal rights)?
• Why are not only crime hotspots (for example Stachus) but also parks and leisure facilities monitored?
• Who watches the monitors connected to the 9,200 cameras all day long?

The answers are partly confusing – the State Chancellery did not even wish to respond to questions about the cameras. The apparent legitimisation of these cameras stems from the authorities themselves, as they are the ones who approve the surveillance. While the police state that they monitor crime hotspots with video cameras, they also use the technology for traffic monitoring: this approach is, quite seriously, referred to as a “virtual patrol”. What purpose does this serve? Naturally, saving time, personnel and vehicles. As a result, the presence of law enforcement officers in public spaces automatically decreases. A very double-edged sword that politics presents to us here.

Offender Spotted – And Then?

Criminal acts are prevented by video surveillance only to a very limited extent, as most cameras are connected not to monitors but to recording devices. Images from only eight cameras operated by the police and around 100 cameras run by the transport authorities are transmitted to monitors and observed live by staff at devices installed in road traffic areas and at underground, suburban and Deutsche Bahn stations. In the event of irregularities, security forces can then proceed directly, for example to a platform.

However, video recordings in trams, buses and trains are stored and evaluated later if required. This means that no immediate intervention by security personnel is possible and offenders can escape. In individual cases, suspects are later identified and convicted on the basis of the recordings. But let us be honest: simply recognising a perpetrator’s face usually does not tell you who they are or where they can be found. One can only hope either to know them personally or that they have previously been recorded by the authorities with a photograph. Although many victims of burglaries, pickpocketing or violent crimes later see the offender on the recordings, despite video surveillance the police clearance rate fell by 8.9 per cent in 2014 to 60.4 per cent (69.3 per cent in 2013). Due to overburdened police forces and the resulting inadequate investigation outcomes, victims are increasingly seeking advice and assistance from the investigators of Kurtz Detective Agency Munich.