The police are not allowed to start creating files just because someone has had psychological problems. But more resources are needed to prevent delusional acts of violence.
Could it be that the huge anti-terrorist apparatus that Germany has expanded and refined so much in recent years has focused on the ideal type of Islamist convicts, while the now much more frequent danger emanates from psychological problem cases? From people who do not forge protracted terrorist plans but suffer sudden delusions?
So it was in June in Würzburg. The last diagnosis for the Somali who stabbed three people there was “paranoid schizophrenia”. So it seems to have been again on Saturday after a careful initial assessment by the authorities. A 27-year-old Syrian freaked out in an ICE near Regensburg. He apparently called for help, then delusionalized a knife and dangerously injured four people before courageous passengers stopped him.
Security policy has neglected this issue. In the meantime, patterns can be seen. There are often warning signs. But you have to see it. And you have to link them properly. This is tricky. Of course: you have to beware of any form of stigmatization of the sick. Under no circumstances should the police start to create files just because someone has had mental health problems at one point or another. That would be fatal, also because it would deter those in need of assistance from seeking treatment.
But the police should sit up and take notice. When someone is delusional, it can be dangerous. The interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul (CDU), is already breaking new ground with a program to prevent psychologically induced amoctides. This is one thing that “traditional” security policy is still too reluctant to condescend to. If only a small part of the huge resources that have so far been devoted to tracking down and combating terrorist groups were devoted to preventing psychological escalations, everyone would be served.