High concern amongst the German public and the government regarding citizens’ privacy may have contributed to why the quantity of installed cameras in Germany lagged behind the U.K., United States, China and other nations. Public consensus may be changing, as high profile events like the Cologne train station assaults and the Munich mall shootings increase arguments for a greater numbers of cameras. The German Government is responding.

Face detection and recognition

Prior to announcing a new civil defence plan last month, the German Interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere implied, in an interview with German paper “Bild,” that the country would be considering face-recognition technology at all train stations and airports, to help identify suspects from a central database. Face-recognition technology is already used in the Munich airport and other facilities, yet a larger-scale centralized system could be considered a landmark change in the use of surveillance technologies in Germany.

Body-worn cameras

In addition to changes to traditional fixed video surveillance systems, there is increased demand for body-worn cameras in Germany. So far this year trials have been announced for both federal and state police forces. In another layer of security for the transportation network, the Deutsche Bahn rail company announced body-worn camera deployments for some of its security guards -- a move it hopes will reduce violent incidents.

Privacy trade-offs

Meanwhile some commercial video surveillance operators are considering the implications of Germany’s updated Federal Data Protection Act, to protect the privacy of employees in the workplace. Full compliance relating to video surveillance could require the identity and faces of employees to be digitally masked. Video analytics software can be used to achieve this aim, with only “persons of interest” selected to have their features unmasked. This type of technology harkens to a less-contentious balance between privacy and security.

Evolving systems

The type of video surveillance camera installed in Germany has changed over time. In 2015 there were still significantly more analogue cameras than network cameras installed in Germany. In 2017 the number of network cameras installed is forecast to surpass analogue cameras for the first time. However, the camera is just one component of the video surveillance system, much of the investment required in Germany will need to be on the back-end, ensuring systems are connected and accessible to the relevant authorities. Incidents such as the Bonn station bombing in 2012, when no footage was recorded, highlight the need for investment – not only in cameras, but also in video management, storage and network infrastructure. If the German interior minister’s suggestion is to be achieved, widespread changes will be needed, to bring German video surveillance systems up to speed.