Body Armour for Bailiffs: Brandenburg Equips 115 Court Officers as Threats Escalate
Published on 09/14/2026 at 18:31 | Editorial boerse-global.de
Court bailiffs in Brandenburg will soon be issued with protective vests, the state's justice ministry has confirmed, in a move that reflects growing concern about the safety of staff who carry out enforcement work in the field.
Justice Minister Benjamin Grimm (SPD) said 115 serving and trainee bailiffs would receive the vests on a rolling basis over the coming weeks. The ministry is responding to a shifting risk picture for officers working outside the courthouse, though no formal obligation to wear the equipment is being imposed.
A job that has changed shape
Ministry spokespeople describe a role that has evolved considerably, even if most home visits still pass without serious incident. The daily workload is heavy. One senior bailiff at the district court in Neu-Ulm, Bavaria, handles as many as 28 cases in a single day — a caseload spanning debt claims, evictions and the enforcement of arrest warrants.
Brandenburg's decision to supply body armour is intended to address the safety expectations of officials operating in that environment.
The step fits a broader pattern of tightening security in public spaces and around critical infrastructure. Rail is a case in point: the federal police recorded a 40% rise in reported attacks on railway staff in Hesse in the first half of 2026.
Transport operators are responding. Frankfurt's VGF has been stepping up trials of chest-height body cameras since the start of the month, while the Hessische Landesbahn (HLB) plans to expand their use progressively from 2027.
Electronic security market expands
Demand for technical backup to security strategies is visible in the sales figures too. Germany's electrical and electronics industry association ZVEI reports that the market for electronic security technology grew 3.9% in 2025, reaching a total volume of €5.74 billion.
Video and access control systems posted the strongest gain at 6.1%. Fire alarm systems also grew 3.9%, and voice alarm systems rose 3.8%.
Alongside the build-out of data centres, regulatory requirements such as the KRITIS umbrella law and the EU Construction Products Regulation are seen as the main forces driving that growth.
Operators of critical infrastructure, meanwhile, are pressing for wider powers. Kathrin Günther, a manager at grid operator Tennet, described security-related incidents as an almost daily occurrence and called for drone-defence rights to be granted to operators.
Amprion chief Müller takes the view that countering drones is a sovereign task. Either way, incidents such as the discovery of 21 explosive devices along high-voltage lines in eastern Saxony underline the physical threat facing supply networks.
Engineering answers to workplace risk
Industry is responding to heightened security needs in connected, hazardous working environments with specialised products. Pilz has introduced new "Industrial Security Services" designed to assess the security status of machine fleets in line with standard IEC 62443 and to prevent tampering with safety-related functions.
In machine safety, Hema manufactures custom-fitted viewing panels from composite materials to deliver protection under the Machinery Directive, and offers retrofit services that check existing installations against current DGUV recommendations.
Surveillance technology is advancing as well. Blickfeld presented QbProtect S, a short-range 3D LiDAR system that enables GDPR-compliant monitoring without recording faces.
New tools are also reaching the training room. Under the CO.VISION programme in Baden-Württemberg, an immersive VR simulation for safety training in substations is being developed, including scenarios that model physical attacks on digital components.
The security industry's own infrastructure spending rounds out the picture. Brand ASSA ABLOY has begun construction of a new logistics centre in Berlin with roughly 2,700 square metres of usable space, scheduled for completion in 2028 — a signal of the long-term weight that physical and electronic security systems carry for both the private and public sectors.
