Should Security Services Track Underage Teens?

Should Security Services Track Underage Teens?

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A high-ranking German official has called for the country’s domestic intelligence service to be granted authority to keep tabs on teenagers under 16 who are likely to be (or who already are) radicalised, RT reports.

Stephan Kramer, head of the Thuringian branch of the Verfassungsschutz (VS), said in an interview with the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, that the ban on such surveillance should be lifted, as it prevents Germany’s security services from having a clear and complete picture on jihadist activity in the country, and significantly hampers their ability to provide national security.

“We have a huge problem,” Kramer said, and provided as example the case of 15-year-old Safia S., who in February stabbed a police officer at the main train station in Hanover. “Minors are not only radicalized, they are also used as weapons,” Kramer added.

“Right now I see no other option than to erase those age boundaries,” said Kramer. He went on to say that radicalisation needs and must be detected before it sets in, while something can still be done about it.

Hans-Georg Maaßen, service chief of the Verfassunggeschutz, supported Kramer’s call with remarks at an internal meeting of the service. He said the the intelligence agency “essentially can’t keep data on people under 16 unless there are concrete indications of a terrorist threat.”

Germany saw several cases of teenagers leaving the country for Syria, either alone or with their parents, that could not be prevented as “existing legislation doesn’t allow the service to take any action, including even writing down the suspects’ names,” RT stated.