By contrast, and to compensate for the breadth of these data collection powers, the
goals at which intelligence activities may aim are limited. Without prejudice to more
detailed differentiations among the various services, the goals are essentially limited
to observing and reporting on fundamental threats that might destabilise the community as a whole, in order to permit a political assessment of the security situation. Not
operational protection against threats is the goal, but providing political intelligence.
For example, the task of the Federal Intelligence Service is not to combat criminal offences per se, but more generally to gather intelligence on foreign countries that is of
importance for the foreign and security policy of the Federal Republic of Germany. In
the form of situation reports, analyses and reports on individual findings, it is to enable the Federal Government to timely recognise threats, and to counter them politically (cf. BVerfGE 100, 313 <371>). Accordingly, intelligence gathering by the authorities for protecting the Constitution does not aim directly to avert and prevent specific
criminal offences or to prepare corresponding operational measures. In this case, as
well, the services’ tasks are limited to a duty to report to the politically responsible
state organs, or to the public, as the case may be (cf. BVerfGE 130, 151 <206>).
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This task of the intelligence services, restricted to providing early political information, is also reflected in a restriction of the services’ powers: they do not have police
powers, and cannot ask the police, not even through inter-administrative assistance,
to carry out measures for which they themselves have no authority. […]
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(bb) The profile of tasks and powers of the law enforcement authorities and security
agencies differs fundamentally from this profile. These entities have the responsibility
of preventing, impeding and prosecuting criminal offences, and of protecting against
other threats to public security and public order. Their tasks are characterised by an
operational responsibility, and in particular by the power to enforce measures against
individuals, if necessary by force. At the same time, their tasks are circumscribed by
law in a differentiated manner and supported by a wide range of powers with many
gradations, both substantive and procedural ones. Even though these agencies also
have certain tasks in advance of threats, their general powers to act against individuals are situation-specific; as a rule, there needs to be cause to suspect the perpetration of an offence, or a danger. This profile of tasks is also consistent with these agencies’ powers to gather and process data. As these powers can ultimately be used to
prepare and justify measures of compulsion up to and including interference with personal freedom, they are considerably more narrowly and more precisely defined by
law than those of the intelligence services, and are quite diversely distinguished from
one another. Accordingly, and with numerous gradations in detail, these powers on
the handling of data also require the existence of a specific cause such as a danger or
the suspicion of an offence. If the legislature allows, as an exception, for personal data to be collected without a specific cause as a precaution or merely to prevent threats
or criminal offences, this is in particular need of justification, and is subject to heightened constitutional requirements (cf. BVerfGE 125, 260 <318 et seq., 325 et seq.>).
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