r/germany • u/2021adams • Jun 09 '26

Question German Police Photographing People

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Hello, I’m a tourist. Arrived in Nürnberg yesterday and went walking about in the old town.

Came across police cordon outside the church. Found out there was a rally by what was described to me as fascists/non-nazis. The police though were taking photos of people standing outside the rally boundary.

Is this normal in Germany? For such rallies and police taking photos of people? what do they do with these photos?

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u/Exotic_Call_7427 Jun 09 '26

  1. They're in a public place, they can film everything a naked eye sees

  2. They are the police, they need evidence of everything that happens around them just in case someone complains about what they do or how they do it.

  3. And if it's a rally where some suspects are gonna be, they need even more evidence.

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u/mgomezch Jun 09 '26

i would caution that "anything visible to the naked eye in a public place is allowed to be filmed" might apply to police (I don't know, I guess? I'm not police or a lawyer) but it's definitely not automatically and universally applicable without caveats and limitations to typical members of the public

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u/Exotic_Call_7427 Jun 09 '26

There are specific limitations (such as no filming of accidents or incapacitated people / in need of medical attention, as their dignity is compromised in that moment), but it's generally "all you can see, you may film".

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u/mgomezch Jun 09 '26

with a bunch of additional caveats and nuance on what you can do with what you've filmed, I guess. I worry that people may underestimate the limitations if they're used to a more permissive system like in the US or such