This video surveillance order is based on Section 15a of the NRW Police Act. On this legal basis, the police can collect data in the form of video images to prevent criminal offenses through open video observation, i.e. video observation that can be viewed by anyone. This order is always subject to clear conditions.

This means that repeated crimes must have been committed in the past at the locations where it is installed and the local structures must be conducive to the commission of crimes. 
They must be clearly different from other comparable locations. The decisive factor is the prognosis that crimes will also be committed there in the future or that facts justify the assumption that crimes of considerable importance will be planned, prepared or committed there.

The prognosis for stationary cameras also includes the assumption that crimes will increase again if the cameras are removed. It must also be possible for the police to intervene quickly if crimes are observed by trained police officers. The existence of these conditions is checked at regular intervals. If they continue to be met, Chief Constable Gregor Lange can order this measure and also extend it.

This was done on May 30, 2024 for Münsterstraße and on June 30, 2024 for Dietrich-Keuning-Park.

"Video surveillance is an important component in our concept of measures to reduce crime in Nordstadt. It is embedded in a package of measures involving uniformed and civilian forces, increased patrolling of neighboring areas and the implementation of priority operations. 
The first successes are already visible. However, it is important to me that the effects are sustainable and that there is a real improvement in the situation in this area in particular. We will therefore continue our work. However, as this is a significant encroachment on fundamental rights, I will continue to review the proportionality of this measure," said Chief Constable Gregor Lange.

"The central aim of video surveillance is to prevent crimes and not to suppress them, which is why the extension of this measure is currently necessary," said Chief Constable Lange on the extension of the order.

The basis for the evaluation is, among other things, the number of crimes detected. The main focus here is on street crime offenses.

This shows a positive trend for Dietrich-Keuning-Park in the last order period (01.11.2023 to 31.05.2024) compared to the previous periods from 06.03.2023 to 05.10.2023). The number of total offenses fell from 413 offenses to 319 offenses, which corresponds to a decrease of 22.8%.

The number of street crime offenses also fell in Münsterstrasse. While 344 crimes were recorded in the period from 31.05.2022 to 07.05.2023, 257 crimes were recorded in the period from 31.05.2023 to 30.04.2024. This corresponds to a decrease of almost 26%.

The declining crime figures show the effectiveness of video surveillance in the context of the other measures implemented here. The measures of the presence concept Fokus (PK Fokus), which Police Commissioner Gregor Lange had already ordered for the city center and Nordstadt area in July 2023, will have had a particularly positive impact on these statistics. PK Fokus includes intensified control and presence measures with the involvement of riot police squads.

With the announcement of the 2023 police crime statistics for Dortmund police headquarters, it became apparent that, similar to the state and national trend, crime figures were rising for the second time in a row after years of steady and significant declines.

The Dortmund police had already begun to counteract this trend in 2023 with a cross-directorate approach.

In view of the trend observed here and the special features of the locations observed, Dortmund police believe that crime in these areas will rise again once the technology has been dismantled.

The video surveillance on Münsterstraße will therefore continue until 30.05.2025 and in Dietrich-Keuning-Park until 30.06.2025. The success of the video surveillance in detail is demonstrated by a number of successful police operations, which are listed here as examples:

On 16.12.2023 at around 01.40 a.m., a man was noticed in Dietrich-Keuning-Park during video surveillance, apparently taking drugs from a hiding place. Emergency services, who were sent there immediately, were able to find a 19-year-old man from Herne on Leopoldstraße based on a good description of the person. When they checked him, they found the narcotics in question and seized them. They arrested the 19-year-old on the spot and initiated criminal proceedings against him.

Another operation took place on 03.02.2024 at the corner of Münsterstraße and Heckenstraße. At around 14:45, video surveillance revealed a man attempting to open several car doors. Dortmund police officers, who had been dispatched to the scene on the basis of these observations, encountered the 35-year-old sitting inside a vehicle. On examination, it turned out that this was not his car. They arrested him provisionally and initiated criminal proceedings.