Number of victims increases
Domestic violence: Bushman open to ankle bracelets
21.08.2024, 11:02 a.m.
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
Almost 260,000 people were victims of domestic violence last year. One way to protect them from further attacks is to use electronic ankle bracelets on perpetrators. Justice Minister Buschmann supports the use of these and is currently examining the extent to which the federal government can intervene through legislation.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann sees electronic ankle bracelets for perpetrators as a means of combating domestic violence. He is open to using them, the FDP politician told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) – but still believes that this is a matter for the states. “I can also basically imagine regulations in the Violence Protection Act.” The electronic ankle bracelet transmits the whereabouts – if someone approaches the victim’s home despite a restraining order, the police are alerted.
In cases of domestic violence, the local police are initially responsible. “The states are responsible for police law, so the states must first decide whether they want to use an electronic ankle bracelet in their police law,” Buschmann continued. In doing so, he reiterated his position. After the Federal and State Interior Ministers’ Conference (IMK) in June, he had already referred to the options available to the states. The reforms currently being developed to child custody law and family procedural law include better protection against domestic violence. For a longer-term order, it could make sense to involve family courts as well, he said. He is having it examined whether there is scope for a federal law regulation in this regard.
Last year, according to police crime statistics, a total of 256,276 people were officially affected by domestic violence – 6.5 percent more than in 2022. The year before, there had already been an increase of more than eight percent compared to 2021.
Most recently, Hesse launched a Federal Council initiative to use electronic ankle bracelets in cases of domestic violence. The state’s Ministry of Justice proposes to enshrine ankle bracelets in federal law by amending the Violence Protection Act. State Minister of Justice Christian Heinz explained his decision: “At the moment, the only option under the state police laws is for victims of domestic violence to be protected by electronic ankle bracelets from the perpetrators for a short time, until legal action is taken.”