NCJ Number
78924
Date Published
1980
Length
180 pages
Annotation
The proceedings of the 1979 annual conference of the West German Federal Bureau of Criminal Matters in Wiesbaden on possibilities and limitations for manhunts and searches are presented.
Abstract
Participants are officials of West German State and national police agencies, other government officials, journalists, and police officials from several other countries. The conference focuses on improvements in search procedures, with special emphasis on computerized information systems and problems of data protection. Topics include the relationship of searches to everyday police work, problems of large-scale searches and manhunts, possibilities for improving the effectiveness of manhunts from the perspectives of the media and the police, conflicts between public search methods and individual rights, and searches involving national boundaries. Also covered are the effects of data protection laws on search efforts from the viewpoints of the data protection agency and the police, possibilities for computer-assisted searches for objects, factors of selection in determining which offenders to pursue, and the search/manhunt systems in France, Israel, and Italy. Perspectives are also presented on development of international mechanisms for pursuit of terrorists and on the role of West German ministries, particularly the Ministry of the Interior, in manhunt operations. Group discussions pertain to legal questions concerning raids and roadblocks, the importance of collaboration between police and the prosecutor's office in computer-assisted searches, and technical aids for searches. The summary of the panel discussion on search problems and solutions from different standpoints is provided.