Judicial Restrictions on Perpetrators Only After Escalation

When Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg commenced operations ten years ago, stalking had only been a criminal offence for six years (§ 238 of the German Criminal Code, “Nachstellung”). When confronted with the accounts of stalking victims, it quickly became clear to us that this still very young criminal offence fell far short of what was required and that countless injured parties continued to feel abandoned by the justice system. In 2017, an important amendment to the stalking provision was introduced, focusing primarily on offences committed using new digital means of communication. However, this change was not suitable to finally address the core problem adequately. As is so often the case in Germany, a stalking incident near Regensburg (Alteglofsheim) first had to escalate to a life-threatening level before the perpetrator was sentenced, following the legislative amendment, to one year and nine months’ imprisonment – suspended, no less. At the time of sentencing, the then 30-year-old student had already been harassing a young woman, Doris Englbrecht, since 2009, repeatedly seeking her proximity against her will. In 2012, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. In 2014, he was convicted for the first time, receiving a suspended sentence for an assault on Ms Englbrecht. On New Year’s Eve 2016/17, he finally broke into the parental home of his object of obsession, masked and armed with an axe, under the influence of one litre of vodka and orange juice. Ms Englbrecht was not present at the time, but her father stabbed the intruder in self-defence with a folding knife as the assailant approached him. During the struggle, not only was the stalker seriously injured to the chest, shoulder and arms, but the father also sustained a neck wound close to the carotid artery, a severed submandibular salivary gland and injuries to his hands. Even stern TV reported on the case one year later and again at the end of 2021.

In determining the sentence, the perpetrator benefited from his alcohol-induced disinhibition, his severe injuries and his forensically confirmed stalking disorder. While the affected family subsequently required psychological care, the perpetrator remained at liberty and repeatedly breached his probation conditions without any consequent imprisonment. Although Ms Englbrecht had suffered from the harassment for years, the courts demonstrated impotence beyond imposing contact bans, exclusion orders and warnings. Yet it has been well established for decades that stalkers cannot simply be dismissed as harmless eccentrics: in around 20 per cent of documented cases, physical violence is inflicted on victims, who are female in around 80 per cent of cases. The consequence of lax prosecution of stalkers is evident: following the public attention surrounding his actions, the same perpetrator from Bavaria selected a new victim and was convicted again in 2020 – once more receiving only a suspended sentence. In view of such events, which regrettably stand out less due to any exceptional severity than because of their public visibility, many victims feel abandoned by the justice system. The work of our private detective agency in Nuremberg offers them an alternative – at least to obtain court-admissible proof of the offences. One thing is also clear: not only do most stalkers escape with absurdly lenient judicial decisions, but even at the stage of case intake at local police stations, there is often an attitude that makes it difficult for victims to feel taken seriously.

Original stern TV Report from 2017 (German only):

What Is Stalking and What Can Be Done About It?

The term “stalking” originates from English and, more specifically, from hunting terminology, where it roughly means “to creep up on”. The famous deerstalker hat, known from numerous Sherlock Holmes adaptations (although never explicitly mentioned by Holmes’ creator Arthur Conan Doyle), is literally intended to enable the wearer to approach red deer unnoticed. Stalkers are individuals who obsessively pursue, harass, threaten or, in the worst cases, injure another person. In more than 80 per cent of cases, stalking arises from some form of interpersonal relationship, for example former partners or colleagues, friends or neighbours, patients or clients. The perpetrators are usually men, the victims usually women, and the average duration of stalking is approximately 28 months, according to various law-enforcement authorities and a study by the Technical University of Darmstadt. Every eighth German will be a victim of such persecution at least once in their lifetime. For years, our private detectives from Nuremberg have been committed to supporting stalking victims in criminal proceedings, giving them a chance to regain the ease and sense of security that stalkers have taken from them.

To prove that the offence of stalking – officially “Nachstellung” – has occurred, all contact attempts (letters, SMS messages, emails, voicemail messages, etc.) should first be meticulously documented. After all, as courts frequently argue, an annoying admirer is not necessarily an obsessive stalker. In other words, the burden of proof always lies with the victim. And this is precisely where our Nuremberg detectives come into play (more on our methods below). Once the offence has been established, contact bans can be imposed, prohibiting the stalker from contacting the victim by telephone or other means and rendering any approach punishable by law – at least in theory. In practice, however, many police officers, public prosecutors and judges feel their hands are tied unless physical violence has already occurred.

When the Victim Is a Man – Even a Solicitor Is Powerless

How far legislation lags behind the reality of stalking is illustrated by the case of a Nuremberg solicitor who, despite all his specialist knowledge, found no way to rid himself of his female stalker. Hannes W. was harassed by the same woman for more than 20 years. She had approached him in the early 1990s as a potential client and became so intrusive that he was forced to terminate the client relationship. For several months thereafter, he received abusive and incoherent letters from her, until the correspondence ceased. As a lawyer, W. naturally knew what steps he could take: he obtained a contact and proximity ban and documented every letter, call and message, just as our private detectives in Nuremberg strongly advise their clients to do.

More than ten years later, in 2008, abusive letters reappeared, along with calls to the law firm and unwanted gifts from a woman who imagined herself to be the solicitor’s wife. She sent worn underwear and was suspected of removing post from the firm’s letterbox and placing it in others. At least two other lawyers in Franconia were also harassed by the same perpetrator. Yet legally there was no remedy: proceedings initiated by Hannes W. were discontinued twice, on the grounds that the woman was mentally ill but not dangerous. As there were insufficient indications of danger to others or to herself, involuntary commitment was not an option. The affected lawyers were left with little more than the hope that the woman would eventually desist. In such cases, we as detectives in Nuremberg must honestly concede that we would probably be of limited assistance. After all, there was no lack of evidence fulfilling the elements of the offence of stalking – what was lacking was consistent prosecution in Germany.

What Do Detectives Do in Stalking Cases?

Due to the sheer volume of stalking cases (around 20,000 reports per year, with an estimated dark figure of up to one million), the police are unable to provide personal protection or conduct time-intensive investigations for every individual case. And even if they could: fewer than three per cent of registered perpetrators are charged, a paltry one to two per cent are convicted, and as the Doris Englbrecht case illustrates, even convictions usually offer no effective protection for victims – not even in the short term. What, against this backdrop, can skilled detectives such as those at our Nuremberg private detective agency achieve? Above all, we bridge the threshold that is so often cited as an obstacle to charges and convictions: we provide court-admissible proof of stalking offences. Not only do we assist, where required, with the identification and securing of existing evidence, we also expand it through surveillance – usually of the client, i.e. the victim. This approach could be described as counter-stalking: by accompanying the victim, all pursuers can be identified and visually documented. In cases of imminent danger, our private investigators can intervene immediately, thereby preventing further escalation. There are also cases in which it is more appropriate to place a specific property under surveillance in order to establish stalking incidents in the victim’s absence. Furthermore, at the explicit request of the client, we may confront perpetrators through a formal risk address, where appropriate in conjunction with a psychotherapist.

We are also happy to arrange personal protection for victims of stalking; however, in a society that considers itself progressive, this should of course not be a permanent solution. Ultimately, victims wish to live a normal life again, free from constant fear of attacks and harassment. Another option for regaining a degree of personal security is the installation of video systems and motion detectors. In this area, too, the experts in evidence preservation from our corporate investigation unit in Nuremberg, throughout Franconia and Bavaria, as well as nationwide and internationally, are at your disposal. All further details are best discussed with you personally, so that we can respond optimally to your individual case.

Engaging Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg in Stalking Cases

The stalking case of Doris Englbrecht described above is just one of countless examples demonstrating how the German justice system fails to strike a balance between victim protection and an – in principle commendable – consideration of perpetrators’ individual circumstances. In practice, victims far too often suffer restrictions that are grossly disproportionate to the measures imposed on perpetrators by the courts. To return to the etymology of the term “stalking”: in English, one might describe the German judiciary’s excessive empathy with perpetrators as “overdoing it”. This phenomenon currently contributes significantly to the polarisation of German society.

If you or a loved one are the victim of a stalker and require court-admissible documentation, you can engage our private detectives in Nuremberg at any time for one or more assignments. We offer surveillance, digital and analogue research, on-site investigations (often involving legend building), the arrangement of personal protection and much more. You can reach us at any time via our contact form, by email (kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de) and – during our business hours, Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 20:00 – by telephone on +49 911 3782 0154.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Editor: Patrick Kurtz  

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Engaging our private detectives from Nuremberg naturally involves an initial financial outlay. In the long term, however, commissioning a qualified private investigator can save a great deal of time, money and emotional strain, and can help restore quality of life. The involvement of Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg and Franconia often more than pays for itself, particularly in legal proceedings. Qualified detectives do not merely obtain information; they produce court-admissible investigation reports that can decisively influence the outcome of proceedings. In addition to the surveillance of target persons, the range of services provided by our detectives from Nuremberg also includes extensive research, securing and recovering property, as well as technical services such as IT forensics and bug-sweeping: +49 911 3782 0154.

But when does it actually make sense for you to engage a private detective?

Private Detective in Cases of Suspected Infidelity

Your partner has separated from you and you would like to know what he or she is currently doing? You would prefer to know every step your ex is taking? If your sole concern is the question “How can I get my ex back?”, any reputable private detective will decline your request. Such surveillance would be immoral and does not fulfil the requirement of a “legitimate interest”, which forms the working basis for every private investigator.

If, however, there is a suspicion that your current partner is being unfaithful, our private detectives in Nuremberg can provide you with clarity. Particularly in the context of divorce proceedings or maintenance disputes, evidence of a partner’s infidelity can be decisive for the outcome of the case.

Private Detective for Person Searches

Are you looking for your mother, your biological father or another missing family member? Private investigators can examine the background of the person being sought, search for clues and review points of contact from the past. When searching for heirs or missing friends, engaging Kurtz Private Detective Agency Nuremberg significantly increases the chances of success.

Private Detective in Cases of Theft

If you suspect that theft is taking place in your household, a private detective can also assist in clarifying the situation. If, for example, you suspect a domestic helper or babysitter, the perpetrator can quickly be identified through targeted surveillance and well-planned traps.

Private Detective in Cases of Stalking

If you are being followed or harassed, an interim injunction is often the only way to compel the perpetrator to cease their behaviour. However, such an injunction is not issued on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations, but requires at least sufficient indications. Proper documentation of the harassment is essential. Our detective agency in Nuremberg can document the stalker’s activities in a court-admissible manner and identify potential danger situations. If the perpetrator’s identity is unknown, private investigators can usually determine it very quickly through further surveillance.

Note

Kurtz Detective Agency does not guarantee the accuracy or applicability of information on linked third-party websites.

Editor: Patrick Kurtz

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Manuela Prill from the Nuremberg magazine famos interviews private detective Patrick Kurtz, owner of Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg and Franconia, on the topic “Up and Away.”

“I’ve Never Been to New York . . .”

“Just going out to buy cigarettes and never coming back — that’s the classic. Simply leaving, spontaneously, without any obvious reason for partner and family? Private detective Patrick Kurtz has a lot of experience in tracking down missing persons. He knows: when someone decides to disappear, a wide variety of motives can lie behind it.

‘And on the stairs he felt, as if this were a departure/I would simply have to go away for all time ...’ Almost everyone knows Udo Jürgens’ song about the man who goes out for cigarettes and dreams, in the meantime, of running away. Because his life seems oppressive, dull and full of respectability, and he has never been to New York, where perhaps everything might be much nicer. ‘We’ve never actually had a case exactly like the song,’ says Patrick Kurtz. The 29-year-old runs 30 detective offices across Germany, including in Nuremberg. On average they are commissioned to search for a missing person nationwide about once a month. Usually by the partner or a family member of the missing person. The first and most important step for any search is always to investigate the motive. What could be the reason for someone to disappear? There are many different answers to that.”

Motives for deciding to disappear

“Quite often someone is found unconscious because of excessive alcohol consumption or illness, and for a time their identity cannot be established. ‘Then there are cases where people have problems and, for example, try to escape their creditors by disappearing,’ Kurtz says. Some go underground because they are themselves involved in criminal activities that their family know nothing about. Some, sadly, because they want to end their life. Or because they really want to hide from their family. ‘We have experienced that with, for example, Muslim girls whose families did not accept that they were with a German man,’ the private detective relates. People also say goodbye from relationships without prior warning and without explanation.

A separation by disappearing — this phenomenon is called “ghosting”, because someone virtually vanishes like a ghost into thin air. But can you really just up and leave in our digitalised world? ‘To disappear completely, without leaving visible traces, is very difficult,’ Kurtz believes. Unless you are prepared to forgo all comforts; you must not use credit cards in your real name, not rent accommodation, not take a plane. There are certainly still parts of the world without digital access, but you first have to get to those places.”

11,400 registered missing persons in Germany

“Whatever the reason someone disappears: for relatives the uncertainty, the fear that something terrible might have happened and the many unanswered questions are extremely hard to bear. Nobody is prepared for such a situation. The reactions Kurtz has seen among his clients range from powerlessness and despair to denial and to ‘never give up’. Some people search for their missing relatives for years.

According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), at the beginning of the year 11,400 Germans were registered as missing. That figure includes cases resolved within a few days, but also people who have been missing for up to 30 years. The proportion of persons missing for more than a year is around three percent. Almost half of cases are clarified within a week.”

Note

The original article appeared in the print edition of the Nuremberg magazine famos. Emphases (bold) and links on this page may differ from the original.

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg provides the following article to give an overview of the legal foundations and applications of GPS tracking. This is a very complicated, complex, and often legally opaque area. Our Franconian detectives aim to improve understanding of this topic both for their clients and for independent interested parties.

What is GPS and what are its applications?

The Global Positioning System, better known as GPS, is a satellite-based system originally developed for military purposes to determine positions. It allows not only easier navigation from point A to point B but also tracking of people or objects and, consequently, their surveillance. Private users now also rely on GPS, for example via GPS watches for sports and outdoor activities, and naturally through various GPS functions on personal smartphones, which are nowadays an important tool for our private detectives in Nuremberg with numerous applications. Originally, GPS was developed and used by the U.S. Department of Defence, as the system has the great advantage of receiving signals without transmitting one’s own location.

What is GPS tracking and where is it used?

GPS tracking is the recording of a route including date and time using the GPS technology described above. This form of technical surveillance is one of the easiest, fastest, and most cost-effective ways to create movement profiles of people, vehicles, or even animals. Accordingly, so-called tracks can be used for both private and commercial purposes.

The most common applications of GPS tracking are:

• GPS tracking of people, e.g., suspicious employees (see employee monitoring)
• GPS tracking of vehicles
• GPS tracking of animals
• GPS tracking of mobile phones

For many private uses of GPS surveillance – for example, a GPS tracker for one’s own cat to always know its location – there are no legal restrictions to observe. By contrast, the legal framework for commercial surveillance using GPS devices is significantly more complex. A precise understanding of these legal principles is essential for our detectives in Nuremberg to protect both themselves and their clients from severe penalties due to unlawful GPS use.

Which legal principles must be considered in GPS tracking?

Tracking employees in the workplace

Using GPS technology to track employees without prior agreement is largely restricted for data protection and personal rights reasons. These restrictions apply not only in Germany but also in many other EU countries. For example, according to the Vienna Chamber of Labour portal, employee monitoring via GPS devices in Austria is only permitted if approved by the works council. The law stipulates that any surveillance or control measure that touches on human dignity requires a works agreement. Consequently, a clause in the employee’s contract is generally insufficient and legally ineffective. In Germany, the works council does not even have such decision-making authority, as creating movement profiles is considered an excessive infringement of the tracked person’s personal rights.

Less intrusive measures to monitor employees, such as attendance logs or ID requirements within the company, are possible, but these provide only limited protection against employee misconduct. In general, Germany requires proportionality in monitoring measures. Covert GPS use must, like detective surveillance, be justified by a concrete suspicion of wrongdoing. Opinions on what constitutes sufficient grounds for GPS use vary widely, even among courts and legal experts.

Our business detectives in Nuremberg are happy to advise in detail on the best approach for your company based on our experience. You can contact us by email at kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de or by phone at +49 911 378 201 54.

Tracking vehicles

Employers often need to know the location of field staff in company vehicles to prevent misuse. GPS devices in company vehicles have therefore become indispensable. However, there are legal requirements to observe, as the vehicles being tracked inherently link to the employees driving them, creating a personal data reference. According to the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), continuous monitoring of employees is not permitted due to the constant pressure of supervision.

However, some options exist, such as works agreements or employee consent, allowing vehicles to be tracked – but always with the employee’s knowledge. Before installing GPS devices, the precise purpose should be defined and, if applicable, approved by the works council.

Covert tracking during observations

Whether covert tracking of third-party vehicles via GPS is permitted in exceptional cases or fundamentally prohibited in Germany has, according to our detectives in Fürth, Bamberg, and throughout Franconia, not yet been definitively clarified. There is, for example, no landmark ruling on whether observation-supporting tracking is allowed. Long-term movement profiling is clearly punishable. However, if a target already under observation is additionally tracked to maintain contact in case of line-of-sight loss, e.g., due to traffic lights, it is difficult to argue that the intrusion into personal rights is greater than that caused by the observation itself. Nevertheless, due to the unclear legal situation, Kurtz Investigations generally refrains from using GPS trackers during surveillance.

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

When Employees Step Out of Line

Employers and employees often pursue different interests. If an employee unlawfully enriches themselves at the expense of the employer or harms the company maliciously – for example, through divulging secrets – the business quickly faces the question of to what extent private investigators may monitor the employee in order to gather evidence for court.

Tobias Neumann provides the following overview for clients and interested parties of Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg and Franconia.

Which Methods Are Permissible?

To determine whether an employee is, for example, stealing valuable reference books, taking longer breaks than permitted, or maintaining contacts with competitors, the employer may engage a business and private detective agency for discreet observation. The Nuremberg detectives of Kurtz Detektei employ a variety of investigative methods depending on the situation: in consultation with management, they may embed an undercover investigator in the relevant department, monitor the suspect in public areas (for instance, in fieldwork or during sick leave), and, where legally permissible and tactically justified, use technical tools such as video surveillance.

Most frequently, the services of Nuremberg business detectives are requested for investigating feigned illnesses, unauthorised secondary employment, false expense and timesheet claims, and internal theft. Engaging a detective allows the company to curb employee misconduct and prevent further damage – but not everything is legally allowed.

Under What Conditions May Employees Be Monitored?

Labour law imposes very strict criteria, with the highest priority given to data protection and the employee’s personal rights. Intervention is only permitted when there is a concrete indication that the employee repeatedly breaches their duties or has committed a crime. A mere suspicion – such as believing a field worker spends time in the garden instead of visiting clients – is insufficient if it is based only on a feeling and cannot be concretely justified.

Before a detective may be commissioned to observe an employee, it must be ensured that the suspicion cannot be investigated using milder measures. However, labour law provides few such options, as monitoring methods that do not necessarily involve a detective are often prohibited or heavily restricted for data protection reasons. This includes, for example, secret video surveillance at the workplace or using GPS technology without informing the employee. In many cases, the only viable mild measure is questioning the employee by a supervisor. Yet, as most criminal employees are unlikely to admit wrongdoing, this method rarely succeeds. Consequently, there is often no alternative but to engage investigators such as our private detectives for Würzburg, Bamberg, and the whole of Franconia and Upper Palatinate.

Investing in Quality Pays Off

Employees may hire a labour law attorney if they believe they were unreasonably monitored by a detective engaged by their employer. If an employee challenges their dismissal in court, the company must demonstrate that the detective’s involvement was proportionate and necessary. This is why it is crucial not to hire an amateur investigator with questionable legal knowledge, but to rely on the professionalism of a reputable detective agency.

The Nuremberg private detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency are qualified and experienced specialists who can competently and legally advise affected businesses while gathering court-admissible evidence. Anyone wishing to hire a detective should always verify the qualifications and references of the agency or owner in advance.

Verfasser: Tobias Neumann

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

No Contact, Yet Maintenance Demands

For 21 years, Mr Roth (all names changed) paid maintenance for his daughter Caroline Frege from Würzburg, whom he never got to meet in person, as the child’s mother had refused any contact from birth. When Caroline reached adulthood, Mr Roth, residing in Bern, Switzerland, made several postal attempts to contact her, but received no direct response. Instead, the mother informed him that Caroline did not wish to have anything to do with him. From this rejection, doubts gradually arose for Mr Roth. Did Caroline ever receive his letters? Was she really still attending school? Did the monthly child maintenance actually reach her? The mother maintained that Caroline, now 22, still attended school, lived in the mother’s apartment, had no regular income and no personal bank account, which was why maintenance payments were always transferred to the mother’s account. The claim about the bank account seemed particularly suspicious, as almost every adult in Germany has their own account.

Due to these questionable points, Mr Roth sought the advice and services of our experienced detective agency in Würzburg*. Through surveillance of the daughter, we were to verify whether the mother’s statements about maintenance were correct or if this was a case of child maintenance fraud.

Waiting for Caroline – No Sign of the Subject

The first three days of surveillance by our Würzburg detectives were overshadowed by a significant problem: neither Caroline Frege nor her mother appeared at the registered and alleged residential address. Instead, investigators repeatedly observed an elderly woman (around 80 years or older) at the windows of the relevant apartment in the multi-family building. Although the surname of mother and daughter appeared on the doorbell and mailbox, this could have been a deliberate ploy to use the address for postal purposes. This led investigators to suspect that the subject did not actually live at this address – which, on one hand, supported Mr Roth’s doubts, but on the other hand, made observation impossible without a known residence.

To gather new leads at Caroline’s alleged school, our two-person detective team split on the third day: one remained at the known address, the other went to the school. Caroline did not appear there either, and no information on her whereabouts was obtained. The mother was observed entering the building with her own key, spending about half an hour inside, leaving with several letters, and driving away. Our detectives followed her, but she parked in an underground garage connected to a large complex with numerous house numbers and tenants, making it impossible to determine which area she entered afterward. Although the detectives checked all doorbells, the mother’s name did not appear on any of them.

New Address = New Opportunity for Our Würzburg Detectives

In consultation with Mr Roth, a fourth observation attempt was made at the known address rather than the newly discovered, harder-to-monitor complex. Shortly before the planned end of surveillance, the subject actually appeared on the street leading to the supposed residence. She did not enter the building with a personal key but rang at her alleged apartment and was let in. Later, Caroline left the building accompanied by the elderly woman seen at the windows. Both took public transport to a kindergarten and participated in a Martinmas procession, with no apparent connection to any of the children there. Afterwards, Caroline returned the elderly woman home, spent a brief time in the apartment, and then took a bus to another address in Würzburg where she stayed overnight. The doorbell did not show her name, but a “WG A.R., C.F., K.R.” suggested a possible shared flat including Caroline Frege (C.F.) as a resident.

Surveillance continued into the next day, allowing verification of:

• School attendance
• Employment activity
• Actual residence at the new address
• Living arrangement with the mother

The only caveat: it was a Saturday.

Sparsely Eventful — But Informative

The subject was successfully recorded. To avoid wasting this opportunity and to be certain Caroline actually resided at the new address, Mr Roth agreed that surveillance should continue on Saturday. As expected, the subject neither attended school that day nor performed any paid work. Instead she spent a few hours shopping in the city centre, had a kebab and then withdrew to the new dwelling for the rest of the chilly November day. While not a busy day, it nevertheless provided our Würzburg investigators with two important indications:

Firstly, the probability that Caroline lived at the new address increased because she returned there in the evening and because her surname was displayed on the internal flat letterbox (our investigators had been unable to check the internal letterbox the previous day due to lack of time). Secondly, Caroline made a cash withdrawal with a bank card at a Sparkasse cash machine (ATM), which proved that she had at least control over an account and — most likely — even held her own account. The two newly identified addresses for mother and daughter therefore strongly suggested that they did not, as claimed, share a household and bank account.

Breaches Of The Duty To Inform

In the following weeks our investigators in Würzburg carried out repeated spot daytime surveillance on different weekdays. Over time the evidence established that the subject:

• did in fact live permanently at the new address,
• regularly visited the original registered property to see the elderly woman,
• attended school — but only on two out of five weekdays,
• on the other three weekdays worked at a service company as an apprentice.

Under current German case law, income earned by a child during vocational training must be taken into account when assessing an entitlement to maintenance. Consequently Caroline’s employment could lead to a reduction or even the cessation of her maintenance entitlement depending on the level of her apprenticeship pay. The commencement of employment and the amount of remuneration should have been disclosed to the maintenance payer, Mr Roth. If the omission had been deliberate, it could constitute fraud. To clarify the question of intent, and to determine responsibility (mother, daughter or both), our Würzburg office took two additional steps.

A Clarifying Conversation Between Investigators And The Subject

After the surveillance concluded, an investigator — acting under a power of attorney from the client — obtained a school certificate for the subject. The certificate confirmed the pupil status (part-time / dual system), but did not indicate whether Caroline actually attended classes to the required extent. More importantly, the certificate showed that Caroline had held that status for over two years. The last time the mother had confirmed the daughter’s pupil status and explicitly stated that Caroline had no income was less than a year earlier. Intent was therefore likely; an "accidental" failure to inform the maintenance payer was implausible.

As Mr Roth initially suspected that his letters had never reached the daughter, he was inclined from abroad to blame the mother. He therefore instructed our investigators to speak with his daughter about the overall situation. The results of that conversation, briefly summarised, were:

1. Caroline had never received any of her father’s contact attempts.
2. Her relationship with her mother had been strained for years. They had not lived together since Caroline was 17.
3. Caroline received no financial support from her mother and therefore also not the maintenance payments from her father.
4. Because Caroline received a sufficient apprenticeship allowance and had been earning income since turning 18, she would in any event no longer have been entitled to maintenance.
5. She did of course have her own bank account.
6. The elderly woman regularly visited at the original registered property turned out to be her grandmother.
7. Caroline expressed the wish to meet her father and provided the investigators with his telephone number.

With that the case for our investigators in Würzburg was closed. We later learned that father and daughter had arranged personal meetings and that relations had markedly improved. According to our most recent information Mr Roth was in advanced negotiations, conducted through lawyers, about repayment of the maintenance that had been wrongly appropriated over the years and about the detective fees incurred.

All names and locations have, for the protection of clients and subjects, of course been changed beyond recognition.

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Checking Suspicious Employees

Germany is, by European and global standards, a country with both very high living standards and a high employment rate: in March 2016, 43.172 million people were employed, representing an employment rate of nearly 53 percent of the current 81.9 million inhabitants. This is a clearly positive sign given the still unresolved refugee crisis and numerous job cuts, although apparently not all employees value it equally.

The corporate detectives of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg are increasingly employed to monitor field staff who have either made themselves conspicuous through unusually high expense claims or inappropriate working hours, and whose offences are generally confirmed in the course of our investigations. Such breaches of the employment contract naturally constitute a serious breach of trust against the employer, as field staff are entrusted with extensive responsibility and a high degree of autonomy in handling their cases. While at fixed office workplaces it is quickly noticed if regular coffee breaks exceed 20 minutes, it is considerably more difficult for HR or management to oversee and validate the actual weekly hours of field staff – our private detectives from Nuremberg assist with such verification throughout Franconia, Bavaria, and Germany: +49 911 3782 0154.

Payment Without Performance + Loss of Assignments and Customers

Field staff carry significant responsibility for the actual completion of their working hours; temptations such as extending lunch breaks by half an hour on a pleasant spring day or claiming personal restaurant visits outside working hours as expenses occur repeatedly. Even though no reliable data exists regarding the ratio of contractual to actual working hours of an average field staff member (any survey would hardly yield honest responses), our Nuremberg detectives’ case experience confirms that many employees working off-site like to round up their timesheets and expense claims. They start work later, finish earlier, or sometimes do not work at all.

Especially in a commercially productive city such as Nuremberg, such behaviour translates over a year into significant financial losses: employees paid by the hour extract undue sums from the company while their timesheet fraud results in fewer customers being acquired and, consequently, lower revenue. The company is thus doubly affected, while the field staff member benefits from gained free time and ill-gotten money.

Procedure for Suspicious Timesheets

Do you have one or more employees who are supposed to work off-site but increasingly draw your attention with suspicious hours or expense claims? Do you feel that one of your field staff is noticeably less successful compared with other employees, resulting in revenue losses? Have you confronted the relevant individuals with your suspicions but received only excuses and superficial explanations?

In such cases, contact the private detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg for comprehensive personal advice on possible approaches. Whether your field staff member is fully responsible for planning their working hours or follows a fixed schedule, observation over several working days is recommended to remove all doubts. The employee is discreetly monitored from the beginning to the end of the workday by one or more of our Nuremberg detectives, with any contract violations documented photographically and thus admissible in court.

Not All Field Staff Are Automatically Timesheet Fraudsters – Case-by-Case Observation Permitted

Where there are substantiated suspicions, the motto "trust is good, control is better" should apply to prevent company losses and revenue shortfalls. As noted above, financial losses are doubled when employees shamelessly exploit the goodwill and trust of their supervisors while enjoying an early, employer-sponsored end-of-day drink.

Of course, not every single field staff member may be monitored arbitrarily to prevent timesheet or expense fraud; employee privacy is to be respected and considered more important than the employer’s interests, as long as no suspicious behaviour occurs. However, if employees repeatedly produce astonishing and sometimes contradictory reports that do not correspond to the data of the clients/customers allegedly or actually served, Kurtz Private Detective Agency Nuremberg may intervene and monitor the suspicious employees. Our detectives work professionally and effectively; all evidence is admissible in court, can be used in claims for damages against field staff, and – in the case of contract breaches – may lead to the conviction of the fraudulent employee.

Extreme Case: Customer Poaching by Field Staff

As if breaches of trust and contractual violations were not enough, employers may face even greater damage: beyond excessive wage payments and revenue losses, a field staff member may secretly offer company services in client meetings for personal gain, or poach long-standing clients for a privately operated business. This harms the company far more than falsified timesheets or expense claims, as losing valuable clients unexpectedly is among the hardest blows for any business owner. In such cases, the employee commits a criminal offence to such an extent that, besides summary dismissal, a contractual damages payment – typically several thousand euros – may be required, along with detective fees and any expected revenue losses.

The criminal mentality that aims to achieve the most money and/or free time with the least effort regularly causes companies losses in the millions. The deployment of our corporate detectives in Regensburg, Bayreuth, Nuremberg, or Amberg is therefore not only recommended but necessary if fraudulent field staff are to be caught in the act, ensuring affected companies receive fair compensation. After all, the German economy is Europe’s strongest and should remain so. In case of need, contact our detectives in Nuremberg for non-binding information on our procedures and fees: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Bullying Against Individuals Harms the Entire Company

In many companies, employee satisfaction and, consequently, performance are severely impaired by discrimination and bullying from colleagues and supervisors. This primarily affects the victims of such discrimination, who may suffer from psychological problems, anxiety disorders and – according to the experience of our detectives in Nuremberg – resulting physical illnesses, but such bullying also has long-term consequences for the employer: employees no longer work together in the way good corporate policy and respectful interaction would require; this in turn has a negative impact on revenue and growth.

Not without reason, therefore, the biennial "Nuremberg Award for a Discrimination-Free Corporate Culture" is presented by the Human Rights Office of the City of Nuremberg, which promotes initiatives aimed at improving the working atmosphere and supporting human rights, including equal opportunities, inclusion of foreign and disabled employees, social engagement, rejection of child and forced labour, and more. The private and corporate detectives of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg are also always committed to assisting both private clients who need help due to bullying or discrimination and employers who wish to prevent discrimination, catch possible perpetrators and dismiss them, and to work with them and for them to create an improved working climate: +49 911 3782 0154.

Bullying – No Longer an Isolated Case

As the detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg can confirm from many years of experience with their clients, bullying and discrimination in the workplace are no longer rare occurrences. According to two statistics collected in 2016 (personally experienced bullying and bullying in the workplace), one in seven working people (15 percent) has become a victim of bullying, most frequently manifested by the withholding of important information (63 percent) and disparagement in front of others (62 percent). Clients of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg also reported, as did 56 percent of those surveyed for the statistics, lies spread about them within the company, as well as being deliberately led into traps by colleagues, and being set up to fail in as many as 53 percent of cases. Hardly any of those affected ultimately bring these problems to their manager’s office, especially not when senior colleagues or supervisors are involved in the bullying or discrimination.

Neither Discrimination Nor Bullying Are Trivial Matters

Managers of affected business units in particular should become aware of the already mentioned negative effects of discrimination and bullying on workforce morale and productivity: as shown by the Federal Government’s Bullying Report, bullying causes annual economic damage of 15 to 25 billion euros, not least due to declining work performance, but primarily as a result of sick leave caused by bullying and discrimination, where the psychological problems and worries of affected employees also manifest physically and can lead to burn-out or incapacity to work.

Thus, not only our private detectives from Nuremberg are engaged by affected employees to document recurring discrimination or bullying attacks, but also our corporate detectives, who offer their services to company management to identify those responsible. The options available to both groups of detectives are diverse: from simple documentation of written abuse such as discriminatory emails, to the potentially permissible equipping of workplaces with microphones or cameras, through to the insertion of a detective for direct observation and documentation of bullying, and much more.

The Victim Is Not Automatically the "Weaker Sex"

Contrary to the common assumption that bullying victims are predominantly female, expert opinion in the literature states that "a comparable level of impact on both genders can be assumed". The Federal Government’s Bullying Report, based on a representative telephone survey, nevertheless concludes that 75 percent more women than men are affected. The Federal Government sees a paradox in the high number of female victims given the low proportion of women in many workplaces; however, the argument should actually be the opposite: it is precisely the still limited equality and equal treatment of women in working life that gives rise to bullying of this magnitude against the supposedly weaker sex, as male perpetrators may feel more secure in their numerical dominance than women who find themselves in the minority.

The impression that women are more frequently affected by discrimination and bullying in the workplace probably also results from the fact that women have a lower inhibition threshold when it comes to seeking external help than men, meaning more women are recorded by institutions. Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg and Franconia can confirm this impression, as they also receive enquiries from female clients more frequently. However, the level of suffering is likely to be the same for both genders: one in four affected individuals is bullied daily, one in three several times a week, which hardly anyone can simply shrug off, especially when the bully is a supervisor – and according to the Federal Government’s Bullying Report, this is a worrying 38.2 percent of cases.

Escaping the Spiral – Nuremberg Detectives Provide Assistance

In addition to the obvious psychological (and possible physical) consequences, the effects of bullying are also far-reaching for the affected employee, the operational structure and the financial losses of the employing company: bullying often results in a change of position within the company or even a (in-)voluntary dismissal, which may represent a blessing or a curse (sometimes both at the same time) for the person concerned; in addition, 43.9 percent of bullying victims surveyed by the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health had to take sick leave at least once due to the consequences of bullying (including 20.1 percent with an illness duration of more than six weeks).

In any case, those affected are encouraged to confide either in the next higher-level supervisor (hierarchically above the bully), the works council or our corporate detectives from Nuremberg, so that they can provide the necessary documentation of bullying or discrimination and thus offer victims evidence admissible in court against the bullies. Company management should also realise that corporate success cannot be achieved at the expense of individuals who must suffer as collateral damage. To protect their own company from financial setbacks, those responsible should be aware that eliminating bullying within their own organisation is of inestimable value – the private and corporate detectives of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg stand actively by your side: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de.

Author: Maya Grünschloß, PhD

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

What many Germans do not know is this: following reunification, the excellent criminalistics training programmes of the former GDR and the study of criminalistics in the Federal Republic of Germany were abolished. Since then, Germany has no longer provided focused training in criminalistics. The criminal police as an independent branch of police career structures was dissolved.

One of the main objectives of the DGfK is the re-establishment of criminalistics training in the Federal Republic of Germany. A first step has been taken with the Master’s degree programme “Criminal Investigation (Criminalistics)” at Steinbeis University Berlin. However, with tuition fees of 29,000 euros until completion within the standard period of study, criminalistics remains, for the time being, a discipline for only a few. Further measures will be required in the future, above all from the political sphere. The DGfK and Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg are committed to helping bring these measures to fruition.

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

As the care room was a rented apartment owned by Mrs Kirch, it was legally permissible for our Nuremberg detectives to install covert video surveillance equipment prior to the suspect carer’s next night shift. The first night did not yet bring success, but it did provide another suspicion: whenever the carer was in the room, he never turned on the light. As a result, the private detectives of Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg were unable to discern much when reviewing the footage.

Without delay, the existing cameras were replaced with camouflaged infrared cameras. And indeed, the recordings produced a clear result: the suspect administered injections to the patient despite having no authorisation whatsoever to do so.

The carer was summarily dismissed, and court proceedings are still pending. Sadly, Mrs Kirch’s mother passed away just a few days after these events. Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg would once again like to express its sincere condolences at this point.

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Forth Bridge During and Shortly After Construction (1882–1890)

Ross Fountain, Princes Street Gardens

Diverse

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg