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Mainz (dpa / lrs) - Thousands of cell phones are stolen in Rhineland-Palatinate every year.
However, with the demand that the police simply locate them, the CDU parliamentary group bites granite from SPD Interior Minister Roger Lewentz.
He replied to a request from the recently re-elected CDU MP Dirk Herber that, according to the Code of Criminal Procedure, cell phone tracking is only permitted in the "prosecution of criminal offenses of considerable importance on the basis of a judicial decision".
In the case of stolen cell phones, “this requirement is regularly not met”.
The background is data protection.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, mobile phone tracking could be used to create movement profiles of citizens.
The CDU parliamentarian Herber says that data protection is very important, but is "pushed too much into the foreground" in the event of cell phone theft.
In doing so, you protect the perpetrators and not the victims of a crime.
Cell phone tracking is by no means about eavesdropping on phone calls or reading chats.
He only demands practical solutions.
"I am speaking for the CDU parliamentary group," Herber adds.
Interior Minister Lewentz said no when he asked the state government whether it was planning a move to the Federal Council to locate stolen cell phones.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior, led by the CSU, also emphasizes that cell phone tracking is only permitted in the case of crimes with "considerable significance".
"This regulation applies nationwide."
Efforts to change the Code of Criminal Procedure in this regard are "not known here".
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According to Lewentz, 3608 cell phones were stolen in Rhineland-Palatinate in 2020 and 2932 suspects were identified.
In 2019, there were 6,479 cell phone thefts and 4,477 suspects.
In 2018, the police counted 5,604 stolen cell phones and identified 4,702 suspects.
According to Herber, this does not yet include the number of court decisions.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210319-99-883904 / 2
Source: Landtag printed matter 17/14306