NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul pushes for non‑US police data software

North Rhine‑Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul said the state wants to avoid future reliance on the U.S. data‑analysis firm Palantir for police investigations. The current contract for Palantir’s “Data‑Base‑Cross‑Analysis and Research” (DAR) system, in use since 2022, expires in October. Reul announced an ongoing tender for a new research‑software solution and stressed the need for “serious competitors” that can meet the requirements without American ties. He expressed concern that close contacts between Palantir and U.S. intelligence agencies could create dependencies, especially under a U.S. president whose policies are uncertain. While acknowledging that other vendors have caught up, Reul warned that the procurement process must still select the best provider under the rules. In parallel, he supported broader government proposals for expanded digital policing powers, arguing they are “overdue” to help tackle crimes such as child abuse, which generate petabytes of data that the police struggle to process. Reul rejected accusations of moving toward a surveillance state, emphasizing that the issue is how tools are used and regulated, not the tools themselves.