Monitoring Security in Germany
The creation of a barometer to measure objective and subjective security in Germany is being researched. Because ‘security’ is a complex, emotional, and normatively charged term, the BaSiD (Barometer of Security in Germany) will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to study its various layers. Representatives from the academic disciplines of sociology, criminology, media and communication studies, psychology, law and ethics will participate in the project.
Project description: the notion of security
The research project will monitor and analyze perceptions, reports, conditions, and expectations that relate to the notion of security. The project will address a range of security associated phenomena, for example, crime, terrorism, natural catastrophes, and major man-made disasters. Furthermore, traditional perceptions of security will also be considered in light of other, less conventional dimensions, such as social and economic security. The project will rely on a combination of basic data collection, methodology development, and application orientated group analysis. It is hoped that the design and results of the project will provide a basis for further academic research in the field. The project has the potential to help develop a ‘Theory of (in)security’ that can be expanded on through supplementary studies. The methods employed are designed to add to the European research landscape. Indeed, it is intended that the proposed ‘Security Barometer’ will be able to be used to determine and measure broad, long-term security trends, and thereby aid in a variety of criminal, social, and educational policy making decisions.
Practical information about Barometer of Security in Germany
The research project began in mid-2010 and is scheduled to last for 3 years. The project is led by the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law. The project partners are the:
- Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Criminal Police Office), Criminalistic-Criminological Research and Advice;
- Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research;
- Institute of Sociology, University of Freiburg;
- International Centre for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities, University of Tübingen;
- Research Centre for Catastrophes at the Institute for Social Science, University of Kiel;
- Institute for Communication and Media Studies, University of Düsseldorf.
Security will be measured on 3 distinct levels:
- Individual level;
- Objective structural level;
- Communication level.