5 February 2021, In the press
More than 90% of Baden-Württemberg’s residents would like to see more police officers in their state. This was the result of a recently published survey conducted by the Allensbach Institute on behalf of all daily newspapers in southwestern Germany. In an interview with the newspaper “Badische Zeitung,” criminologist Dietrich Oberwittler describes this as a “snapshot result.” Repeated surveys hav…
8 January 2021, In the press
9 December 2020, In the press
Criminal law experts delivered a scathing rebuke of a draft law to combat sexual violence against children. During a Bundestag hearing held on December 7, 2020, Tatjana Hörnle, director at the Max Planck Institute, commented that the large sections of the draft are “the exact opposite of a systematic, well-conceived reform.” While the draft addresses the outrage regarding these heinous crimes and…
26 October 2020, In the press
What do we want to protect with the right to informational self-determination? In an interview with Corona Constitutional, the podcast of the Verfassungsblog (constitutional blog), Ralf Poscher talks about surveillance in the digital space, the right to data protection and privacy, and the potential dangers of mass surveillance. One of the background issues is the federal government's planned int…
18 September 2020, In the press
The coronavirus pandemic has encouraged the growth of organized crime in Germany. However, according to Dr. Benjamin Vogel and Dr. Clara Rigoni (senior researchers at the MPI-CSL), effective tools for law enforcement are lacking. This has to change.
25 August 2020, In the press
Why does the recently presented draft law to improve the fight against money laundering miss its goal? In his Verfassungsblog post, senior researcher Benjamin Vogel argues in favor of a fundamental new criminal law approach.
12 August 2020, In the press
“The Police: Friend or Foe?” This was the motto of a digital lunchtime discussion hosted by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Südbaden on August 10. Armin Schuster (Member of Parliament from Lörrach) and Ralf Poscher (Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law in Freiburg) were invited to exchange views.
4 August 2020, In the press
In Germany, a number of child abuse cases have dominated the headlines in recent months. Amidst calls for harsher punishment for the perpetrators, the Federal Ministry of Justice presented initial reform proposals at the beginning of July. But what effect could stricter laws have? Tatjana Hörnle, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, is sceptical. She has …
21 July 2020, In the press
After George Floyd’s death, thousands of citizens across the United States and Europe took to the streets to protest against racism and police violence. One topic that has repeatedly been discussed in the context of these protests concerns the role of diversity, discrimination, and racism in both police training and everyday police work. Starting in autumn 2019, the project ZuRecht - Die Polizei …
17 July 2020, In the press
The numbers of femicides have remained consistently high over the past years. One thing all perpetrators have in common is patriarchal ideas and an extreme image of masculinity, says Bayerischer Rundfunk, which cites Gunda Wössner, criminal psychologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law.
30 June 2020, In the press
The police forces currently find themselves in the focus of public debate. This was triggered partly by the attacks on police officers in Stuttgart by rioting youths. For another part, police violence against blacks in the USA has also brought up the issue of racism in police work in Germany. Ralf Poscher, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law is investigat…
29 June 2020, In the press
If serious serial crimes involving child sexual abuse and the distribution of child pornographic images are detected, as was recently the case in Münster and Lügde, demands for a tightening of criminal law quickly follow. However, there is a discrepancy between public expectations and the scope for national legal policy, writes Tatjana Hörnle, director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of…
24 June 2020, In the press
Ralf Poscher, director of the Department of Public Law, told the New York Times that, after the Second World War, the Allies wanted to demilitarize and civilize police matters in Germany. More than seven decades later, that early ambition of demilitarization has morphed into a broad-based strategy of de-escalation that has become the bedrock of modern German policing.
28 May 2020, In the press
As would-be criminals heed stay-at-home orders, major cities across the globe have reported a significant drop in both property and violent crimes. The numbers of burglary, assault, murder, robbery, and grand larceny cases have dropped following the outbreak of the pandemic. This is due to the lack of opportunities, and the recognition that life is worth staying away from the public for. But for …
19 May 2020, In the press
Killing has rarely been easier than it is today. Droplets from speech, coughing, and spitting, all of which can be fatal. In a guest article in Legal Tribune Online (LTO), postdoc Cornelia Spörl explains when there is a conditional intent to kill - and when an infection means murder or manslaughter.
6 April 2020, In the press
What can be done when several people are at risk of dying and rescuers have to choose between options that do not save everyone? In moral philosophy, criminal law theory, and constitutional theory, such cases have mostly been discussed theoretically so far. However, given the prevalence of Covid-19 and a lack of ventilators, real cases could soon be the order of the day. A critical contribution b…
31 March 2020, In the press
Cases of domestic violence could increase during the Corona crisis. The crisis could also have the effect, however, that women who suffer from domestic violence may now be more willing to get out of such relationships and seek help, says Hans-Jörg Albrecht, criminologist and retired director at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, in an interview with Badische Zeitun…
30 March 2020, In the press
The Badische Zeitung reports on new faces, contemporary research projects, and practical challenges at the newly-reorganized Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law.