[Chapter-delegates] Fwd: German police statistics prove telecommunications data retention superfluous

[Norbert Klein]

Thanks, Veni, for finding and sharing this.


Norbert

On 6/6/2011 7:15 PM, Veni Markovski wrote:
> I think this is very relevant to the fight all chapters have at some 
> point to have in their countries:
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject:     German police statistics prove telecommunications data 
> retention superfluous
> Date:     Mon, 6 Jun 2011 07:24:59 GMT
> From:     AK Vorrat <presse at vorratsdatenspeicherung.de>
> Reply-To:     presse at vorratsdatenspeicherung.de
> To:     Veni<veni at veni.com>
>
>
>
> Press release by the German Working Group on Data Retention (AK
> Vorrat), 6 June 2011:
>
> German police statistics prove telecommunications data retention
> superfluous
>
> The national crime statistics recently published by Germany's
> Federal Crime Agency[1] reveal that after the policy of blanket
> telecommunications data retention was discontinued in Germany due to
> a Constitutional Court ruling on 3 March, 2010, registered crime
> continued to decline (2007: 6,284,661; 2008: 6,114,128; 2009:
> 6,054,330; 2010: 5,933,278) and the crime clearance rate was the
> highest ever recorded (56,0%).[2] Indiscriminate and blanket
> telecommunications data retention had no statistically relevant
> effect on crime or crime clearance trends. These findings confirm
> the position of more than 100 organisations in Europe[3] that are
> opposing the EU policy of mass retention of telecommunications data,
> calling it unnecessary and disproportionate.
>
> The statistics refute the myth spread by certain politicians and
> police representatives that the Internet is a "a lawless space" in
> the absence of mass retention of telecommunications data of non-
> suspects. Even without such a policy of blanket data retention, the
> German police achieved a clearance rate of nearly three out of four
> Internet offences (71%) in 2010, exceeding by far the average
> clearance rate for crimes committed without any use of the Internet
> (55%).
>
> Regarding other European countries, the Scientific Services of the
> German Parliament have recently analysed "the practical effects of
> data retention on crime clearance rates in EU Member States" and
> have come to the following conclusion:[4] "In most States crime
> clearance rates have not changed significantly between 2005 and
> 2010. Only in Latvia did the crime clearance rate rise significantly
> in 2007. However, this is related to a new Criminal Procedure Law
> and is not reported to be connected to the transposition of the EU
> Data Retention Directive."
>
> "Since crime clearance trends are completely unaffected by the
> retention of communications data of non-suspects, there is no
> justification for the EU's "big brother" policy of collecting
> telecommunications data on all 500 million EU citizens", explains
> Florian Altherr, member of the German Working Group on Data
> Retention. "Ninety-eight percent of citizens are never suspected of
> any wrongdoing. The right of protection of their personal data from
> unjustified suspicion, data abuse and data loss due to data
> retention policies must prevail. The EU must respect its Charter of
> Fundamental Rights and give up its failed experiment of total data
> retention immediately."
>
> "In light of these new crime statistics, the irresponsible campaign
> of fear and continued scaremongering by some politicians after the
> annulment of the German data retention law finds no justification in
> reality", says Michael Ebeling of the German Working Group on Data
> Retention. "The truth is that with targeted investigations of
> suspects we live just as safely as we would with a policy of
> indiscriminate retention of all communications data. The endless
> exaggeration and emotionally charged descriptions of isolated cases
> combined with a massive media campaign is both misleading and
> unethical. In my view this is nothing less than a populist defence
> of the most privacy invasive and unpopular surveillance measure ever
> adopted by the EU."
>
> Background:
>
> In a letter sent to the EU Commission in 2010, more than 100
> organisations from 23 European countries have called the blanket
> communications data retention policy adopted by the EU in 2006
> "unacceptable" and have called for its annulment, replaced by a
> policy of data retention on crime suspects alone. Among the critics
> are civil liberties, data protection and human rights associations
> as well as crisis line and emergency call operators, professional
> associations of journalists, jurists and doctors, trade unions,
> consumer organisations and industry associations.[5]
>
> Blanket and indiscriminate telecommunications data retention is
> criticised for disrupting confidential communications in areas that
> legitimately require non-traceability (e.g. contacts with
> psychotherapists, physicians, lawyers, workers' councils, marriage
> counsellors, drug abuse counsellors, helplines), thus endangering
> the physical and mental health of people in need of assistance as
> well as that of those around them. The inability of journalists to
> electronically receive information through untraceable channels
> compromises the freedom of the press, which damages the
> preconditions for an open and democratic society. Retained
> communications data has repeatedly been abused and lost, resulting
> in the unauthorised disclosure of confidential information on
> private and business contacts, movements and activities.
> Communications data has also proven to be particularly susceptible
> to fostering unjustified suspicion, thus subjecting innocent
> citizens to criminal investigations.
>
> The EU Commission is currently preparing a proposal to revise the EU
> Data Retention Directive, but is so far unwilling to scrap the
> unpopular policy.
>
> References:
> [1] German crime statistics for 2010:
> http://www.bka.de/pks/pks2010/download/pks2010_imk_kurzbericht.pdf
> [2] AFP report: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110521-35163.html
> [3] Letter of more than 100 organisations from 23 European countries
> to the EU Commission:
> http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/images/DRletter_Malmstroem.pdf
> [4] Report by the Scientific Services of the German Parliament:
> http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/images/Sachstand_036-11.docx
> [5] Letter of more than 100 organisations from 23 European countries
> to the EU Commission:
> http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/images/DRletter_Malmstroem.pdf
>
> More information:
>
> Crime trends diagrams (for free distribution):
> http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/images/crime_statistics_and_data_retention.pdf 
>
>
> Background information and facts concerning the evaluation of the
> Data Retention Directive 2006/24/EC:
> http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/images/akvorrat_evaluation_backgrounder_2011-04-17.pdf 
>
>
> Report on data retention and serious crime in Germany:
> http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/images/data_retention_effectiveness_report_2011-05-20.pdf 
>
>
> This press release on-line:
> http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/content/view/455/79/lang,en/
>
> About the German Working Group on Data Retention:
> The Arbeitskreis Vorratsdatenspeicherung (AK Vorrat) is a Germany-
> wide organisation which campaigns against extensive surveillance in
> general and the blanket logging of telecommunications and other
> behavioural data in particular.
> Homepage and contact details: http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de
>
>
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> Chapter-delegates at elists.isoc.org
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-- 
Since 3 April 2011, The Mirror with reports and comments from Cambodia - originally since 1997 based on daily translations from the Khmer language press, is now only an archive of the past: http://www.cambodiamirror.org

But I started a new personal blog:

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Norbert Klein
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Phnom Penh / Cambodia