Especially in uncertain times and in times of upheaval, security is the central issue for people. Only those who work credibly and seriously to satisfy the citizens' need for security, who clearly identify the problems and offer solutions, will be trusted by the people. The police officers in North Rhine-Westphalia have a key role to play here. It is their job to provide security. But to do this, you need the backing of politicians. Politicians must provide you with the appropriate resources. This applies to equipment, staffing levels and locations, but above all it is about the legal requirements: These must be right, otherwise even the most hard-working police officers will find their hands tied or will face obstacles that they cannot overcome despite their best efforts.
If you want more security, you have to make more security! And we need to do it quickly, without any prohibitions on thinking, without any ideological spin! We all know that there will never be absolute security, but our goal must be to keep the risk to citizens as low as possible. That's why the NRW state government acted quickly after the Solingen incidents. It took less than three weeks for the cabinet to adopt a security package aimed at improving the fight against terrorism and extremism. The three pillars are security, migration and prevention. The NRW security package goes to the heart of the matter. It offers a real opportunity for improvements, not window dressing.
Keyword: digital investigations
Since Solingen at the latest, it has become clear to many: Terrorism cannot be understood and combated without the internet. We need information early on, because we need to get in front of the situation. Police officers need more powers because we can no longer afford for our security authorities to be half blind in the digital eye. The NRW police will therefore have to increasingly patrol the digital networks with virtual investigators and keep their eyes open where terrorists are lurking. But because I can't afford to employ so many people and because it's not smart to keep you busy, we will use artificial intelligence here. This includes translation software, for example. We also want to pave the way for the use of facial recognition software.
Keyword: information exchange We need a nationwide, central deportation file. However, we also need a state-wide file in which we record self-proclaimed Islamist preachers and influencers - an "NRW hate preacher file", so to speak. Incidentally, this point has already been implemented since mid-October - in other words, very quickly.
Keyword: IP addresses
We finally need a legally secure and practicable way of storing traffic data. It must be possible for the police to access IP addresses as part of their investigations. Just as drivers cannot drive anonymously, surfers should also be identifiable online. The fact is, however, that criminals too often hide in the anonymity of the Internet. We want the IP address and the port to become a "license plate on the Internet" - and to be able to be requested by investigators on a case-by-case basis. Incidentally, this is not only something that will help us in the fight against terrorism, but also in the fight against child sexual abuse and the fight against depictions of abuse.
We already submitted two initiatives from this security package to the Bundesrat at the end of September: because we can't regulate everything ourselves here in NRW, some things have to be changed at federal level. One motion deals with traffic data retention. Incidentally, this point is also responsible for the fact that I cannot approve of the federal government's catalog. Because it does not go far enough: traffic data retention - a power subject to judicial review that is supported by all experts - is not mentioned at all. And this despite the fact that even the European Court of Justice has now cleared the way for this.
Keyword: migration
Who and how many people should come to Germany? Who can stay here? It should be clear: Anyone who misbehaves or commits crimes has no place in our country. Because only guests can expect hospitality! There is a limit to what is possible when it comes to migration. And when it comes to foreign criminals, there is a limit to what is tolerable.
But there are no simple solutions to these problems. Those supposedly simple answers undermine our responsibility in a globalized world and - probably most importantly - our principles of the rule of law, human dignity and compassion. It is not easy, in fact it is damn difficult, to find solutions here. But doing nothing cannot be an alternative! The other motion that the NRW state government has submitted to the Bundesrat is intended to improve migration policy. On the one hand, of course, we want to protect people who are really in need and offer them prospects more quickly, but we also want to return people with no prospects of staying to their home countries or third countries more quickly. This is why asylum procedures must become faster overall. This also includes readmission agreements and the deportation of criminals to Syria and Afghanistan.
I would like to emphasize that the NRW state government is pulling in the same direction here. We are convinced that this is the only way we can maintain citizens' trust in our state: by naming and tackling the problems.