"No powers"

Fuss about cameras in Wörgl

This video camera enables 360-degree surveillance

(Bild: Stadtmarketing Wörgl)

According to Mayor Michael Riedhart, a massive video surveillance system in the town of Wörgl is supposed to provide more security. However, he does not appear to have any authority to go it alone, according to the authorities responsible for security.

George Orwell wrote the well-known novel "1984" in 1948. His vision at the time of a total surveillance state is already more than close to everyday life in 2024. The dangers of Orwell's "big brother" are no longer just literary fiction, but the current, technically perfect surveillance apparatus can also lead to political abuse in some cases. As a result, state police director Helmut Tomac and Kufstein district governor Christoph Platzgummer are not at all happy about the legally unjustified, high-handed actions of Wörgl mayor Michael Riedhart.

Focus on the city center
Since the beginning of the year, he has had public areas such as schools and the center of the Unterland municipality monitored by a good dozen video cameras in the final expansion stage and sells this procedure in the media as "in accordance with the law" - the "Krone" reported in detail.

"He has never made contact with us"
District governor Platzgummer explains: "Mayor Riedhart never contacted us beforehand. We already informed him last fall that security police arguments cannot be decisive for video surveillance, as the municipality has no authority in this matter."

There are currently no criminal hotspots in Wörgl that would justify surveillance with cameras.

Christoph Platzgummer, Bezirkshauptmann von Kufstein

Bild: Land Tirol

A municipality that assumes that there are so-called criminal hotspots in its area must inform the security authority, in this case the district authority, and request permission to install video surveillance there. The authority then carries out a complex procedure in cooperation with the provincial police directorate.

Mayor not responsible
According to Platzgummer, however, there are currently no areas in Wörgl with a criminal focus that would justify surveillance with cameras. "In order to protect the property of the municipality, video surveillance may very well take place, although the data protection regulations must be observed," Platzgummer continues: "Despite this information, Mayor Riedhart has never contacted us, even later, and has repeatedly put forward security police arguments in his media outpourings in public. But he has no jurisdiction here."

Data protection authority was notified
In the meantime, Provincial Police Director Tomac has instructed the legal department of his authority to inform the data protection authority in Vienna about the unlawful and questionable procedures that were created in Wörgl single-handedly by the head of the town.

"People's interests in data protection are important"
"At the same time, Mayor Riedhart was also informed by us in writing that video surveillance in public areas is firstly the sole responsibility of the security authorities and secondly a procedure is legally linked to it, which aims to take into account the interests of security on the one hand and the interests of the population in data protection on the other," says Provincial Police Director Tomac in an interview with the "Krone" newspaper.

Mayor Riedhart is arrogating to himself powers that are purely the responsibility of the security authorities in orderly procedures.

Helmut Tomac, Landespolizeidirektor

Bild: Birbaumer Christof

Section 54, paragraph 6 of the Security Police Act clearly defines: "If dangerous attacks against the life, health or property of people occur in public places and there is a fear that further crimes will be committed there in the future, then security authorities may use image and sound recording devices to record personal data of people present in order to prevent such attacks. Defining these locations is the sole responsibility of the security authorities and not that of a mayor."