Germany, Bavaria
Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt
Facial recognition system (GES) of the Bundeskriminalamt for biometric photo search
OperationalParliamentary recordPAI-DFDF0C63
- Body
- Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt
- Country
- Germany
- Area
- Bavaria
- Technology
- Facial recognition system (GES) of the Bundeskriminalamt for biometric photo search
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Programme
- BKA Gesichtserkennungssystem (GES)
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- The Bavarian data protection commissioner supervises compliance. The government says a data protection impact assessment was examined and judged unnecessary for the systems asked about.
- Evidence
- Parliamentary record
Hansard, committee evidence, written answers - Source
- Bayerischer Landtag, Drucksache 19/8183 (answer of 23 September 2025)
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-DFDF0C63
Notes
In its answer to a written question by AfD member Rene Dierkes (Drucksache 19/8183, question of 25 July 2025, answer of 23 September 2025), the Bavarian Interior Ministry lists the BKA's Gesichtserkennungssystem (GES), in reply to a question on the AI-supported systems the Bavarian police use, as used in Bavaria only by the Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt for biometric photo searches. It says the BKA has made GES available to the Länder since 2008 and that it cost the Bavarian police nothing in 2024. In 2024 one officer completed the BKA's training as a photo-comparison expert, whose introductory course lasts ten weeks, and a second has begun it. The answer says no investigations were initiated by GES photo searches, that no false matches were documented, and that the ministry has no information on external bias audits. Stuttgarter Zeitung (dpa, 21 August 2024) quoted Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann saying the LKA handled more than 4,600 cases with facial recognition software the previous year, with matches to persons already known to the police in about 1,200. The system itself is described under the Bundeskriminalamt record.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayerisches LandeskriminalamtChainalysis Reactor cryptocurrency transaction analysis | GermanyBavaria | Chainalysis Inc. | 2021 | Operational | |
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Other bodies in BKA Gesichtserkennungssystem (GES)
All records in this programme| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hessen PoliceMobile face-matching app (GES-App) searching the BKA facial recognition system | GermanyFrankfurt am Main, Hesse | — | 2025 | Trial | |
| Bundeskriminalamt (German Federal Criminal Police Office)Facial recognition system (GES) against the INPOL photograph database | GermanyFederal | — | 2008 | Operational | |
| Bundespolizei (German Federal Police)Facial recognition searches in the BKA GES system | GermanyFederal | — | — | Operational |
Facial recognition system (GES) of the Bundeskriminalamt for biometric photo search elsewhere in Germany
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polizeidirektion Görlitz (Saxony Police)PerIS covert camera system with facial recognition and number plate capture | GermanyGörlitz, Saxony | — | — | Operational |