Full evidence room: Berlin police to postpone raids

Berlin – The Berlin police, with 28,000 employees one of the largest security agencies nationwide, are keenly debating whether to postpone planned raids. The trigger is a circular from the head of the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) to the departments at the end of June, which in turn refers to the public prosecutor's office and was reported on by the "Tagesspiegel." The prosecutor announced a few days ago that the evidence room at the Moabit Criminal Court would be closed from July 1 until further notice due to overcrowding. The Moabit evidence room, one of the largest in Germany, urgently needs renovation for occupational safety and fire safety reasons. The LKA email now states: "To reduce the current volume of evidence, it should be examined on a case-by-case basis whether the conduct of searches can be postponed – as far as legally and tactically justifiable." "Operations could be postponed if there is no imminent danger or if the offenses are less serious – this is common practice, if only due to occasional staff shortages," Carsten Milius of the Association of German Criminal Police Officers told the "Tagesspiegel." "But the current signal is still worrying. Berlin police officers are frequently finding narcotics, weapons, stolen goods, or goods not yet cleared due to duty, even during operations that may not have been a priority. We hope that the evidence office can be fully utilized again soon."