Berlin, October 29th, 2026 (The Berlin Spectator) – Police in Berlin will begin using AI-assisted video surveillance at Kottbusser Tor in early November. Thirty cameras at a total of 15 locations are to record certain crimes and emergencies around the clock, according to reports by the “Tagesspiegel” daily and the RBB broadcaster.
“We want to detect dangers or problematic situations earlier, react quickly, and of course give people protection in this way”, Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) said at the police station at Kottbusser Tor, which is responsible for the monitoring. “We are using the possibilities that modern technology offers”, she added.
The cameras have been installed for some time but have so far only been adjusted and tested. Actual operations will start with a four-week trial phase.
Violent Acts
The software is programmed to recognize violent acts, in particular fights and other physical altercations, said Markus van Stegen, the Berlin police’s project manager. It reacts exclusively to movement patterns typical of such incidents. When it detects one, officers at the station receive an acoustic signal and the screens show the situation in real time. The officers then assess it themselves and send colleagues to the scene.
The footage is displayed in high resolution, so officers can make out faces and clothing. The AI itself cannot, van Stegen stressed. Biometric facial recognition is not possible, and the system does not register skin color, gender, or clothing. Recordings are deleted after 30 days unless they are needed as evidence.
Kottbusser Tor is one of seven locations in Berlin considered heavily burdened by crime, partly because many people with addictions spend time there. According to police, many offenses are linked to crime committed to finance drug use. “In the past 12 months, more than 900 offenses were recorded in the Kottbusser Tor area”, Spranger said. More than 300 of them were physical assaults, or one third of the total.
Coalition Talks
The technology faces resistance among parts of the public and in the state parliament. Several dozen people protested against it in front of the station on Wednesday. It became possible through a reform of the police law passed by the outgoing coalition of CDU and SPD, which gave police significantly more powers, including the use of AI in video surveillance. The Left Party and the Greens have filed a lawsuit against the law at Berlin’s constitutional court. How a possible future coalition of the Left, the Greens, and the SPD would handle the law and the technology remains unclear.
Spranger said she is convinced that the law will withstand constitutional review. “I firmly expect that this will also be confirmed by the courts later”, she said. She plans to push the issue in coalition talks, where she will have a leading role for the SPD in the working group on internal security.
She also announced that the system will be expanded. Warschauer Brücke is next, followed later by Alexanderplatz and Görlitzer Park in Kreuzberg.
