14 September 2021, In the press
Why do people commit crime? What role do individual predispositions and environmental factors play? How safe do we feel? How can criminal policy meet the needs of modern society and avert threats to public safety?
16 August 2021, In the press
A 41-year-old man is currently on trial for murder at Ingolstadt Regional Court. He is accused of killing his female partner by stabbing her several times. According to criminal psychologist and senior researcher Gunda Wössner, outdated patriarchal gender stereotypes play a key role in female homicide. Many perpetrators have a tendency to become deeply offended and extremely jealous; their self-w…
9 August 2021, In the press
Recently, two brothers from Afghanistan allegedly killed their sister in Berlin. The motive is said to have been an offended sense of honor. Lawyer Clara Rigoni, who researches honor-based violence at the Max Planck Institute, does not see religion as the sole cause for such murders. A central theme is the desire of the perpetrators to control the woman and her sexuality and it is the feeling of …
21 June 2021, In the press
Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, has passed the “Gesetz zur Anpassung des Verfassungsschutzrechts” (law amending the Act on the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution). According to this amendment, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the Federal Police are allowed to make use of so-called source telecommunication surveillance. This basically…
27 May 2021, In the press
Ever since the German Federal Constitutional Court made clear in 2010 that there must be limits to surveillance – including government surveillance –, the scientific community has been faced with a difficult task: How can surveillance be measured, and can it be measured quantitatively? Ralf Poscher, director at the Max Planck Institute, is spearheading a research project that aims to an…
19 May 2021, In the press
Non-transparent, poorly supervised, ineffectively prosecuted – according to a report by the radio station Deutschlandfunk, Germany is considered a money laundering paradise. In the report, experts criticize that despite numerous legal reforms, conducting organized crime in Germany remains far too simple. For example, the supervision of real estate agents and notaries public is insufficient t…
23 April 2021, In the press
29 March 2021, In the press
The German Ethics Council discussed triage decisions under pandemic conditions in an online evening panel with external experts. In particular, the discussion focused on the fundamental ethical and legal conflicts that arise in triage situations. Among the guests were Tatjana Hörnle (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law), Christoph Rehmann-Sutter (Lübeck University), and …
24 March 2021, In the press
What happens when two patients equally need urgent medical assistance but the resources available are only enough for one of them? Numerous medical associations and scientific bodies in Germany provide advice on how to proceed in such situations, albeit in the form of non-binding ethical recommendations. In an interview with “Der Spiegel” Tatjana Hörnle explains what a triage law should include…
12 March 2021, In the press
In Germany, there is currently no femicide category in crime statistics to record the intentional killing of women or girls. Some experts on the matter, including MPI senior researcher Gunda Wössner, say this has to change if we are to truly understand the facts behind the crime.
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 …