Overview
- The Baden-Württemberg interior ministry announced on Thursday that it will change its joint interior and justice regulation so police press releases will as a rule state a suspect's nationality.
- The new policy allows only narrow exceptions for juvenile protection, to avoid harming active investigations, or when naming someone would break a promised anonymity.
- Several other states already usually name nationality unless data protection or tactical reasons prevent it, and Hagel said he will seek a uniform nationwide standard.
- The Deutsche Polizeigewerkschaft publicly backed Hagel's proposal while the German Press Council’s code advises journalists to mention affiliation only when there is a justified public interest to avoid stigmatizing groups.
- The move could prompt legal and political debate about privacy and discrimination, and some outlets have cited 2025 statistics on non-German suspects that are media-reported figures rather than an independent legal finding.