In 2019, three people were arrested while sitting on a park bench late at night in Hamburg[1], accused of carrying incendiary devices[2] and planning to burn down a specific building whose address was written on a piece of paper found on them. Two of them had been followed by cops for several hours before their arrest.
In a 2020 trial, the people were sentenced to between 19 and 22 months in prison[3]. The sentences were upheld on appeal in 2022[4].
Techniques used
| Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Mass surveillance | ||
| Video surveillance | On the evening leading up to the arrest, one of the people — while being followed by cops — stopped at a gas station and was seen by the station's video surveillance cameras buying gas and filling a gas can[1]. The cops obtained the CCTV footage the next morning. | |
| Physical surveillance | ||
| Covert | During the evening leading up to the arrest, two of the people rode their bikes through the city and were followed by cops on bikes (and presumably also cops in cars) until they were arrested in the park[1]. The cops decided to follow the people specifically that evening because it was exactly two years since the G20 summit in Hamburg and they were suspected of planning an action for the anniversary of the summit. | |