Wide-area search 2.0: Strong increase in police facial recognition AI upgrade and mobile apps are causing BKA facial image query numbers to rise sharply. Critics warn of digital stigmatization of entire groups. Digital surveillance in public spaces is reaching a new dimension. Figures from the Federal Ministry of the Interior show a significant increase in the use of the police facial recognition system (GES). Last year, German authorities used the system, which is part of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), much more frequently for identifying people than before. With a total of around 343,856 searches in 2025, the frequency more than doubled compared to the previous year. According to a response from Interior State Secretary Christoph de Vries (CDU) to a request from Bundestag member Lea Reisner (Die Linke), the criminal police offices of the federal and state governments stand out: in 2024, they still generated around 121,000 queries. But recently, the figure shot up to over 313,500 searches in 2025. The Federal Police also intensified its use, accessing the central photo database about 30,000 times – an increase of around 50 percent. Established in 2008, the system officially serves as an assistive tool to clarify the identity of suspects or victims. The procedure is based on comparing image material from surveillance cameras or mobile phones with the Inpol file. This currently contains 7.6 million photographs of approximately 5.4 million people. The software encodes anatomical features of a face into a mathematical template and compares it with the database in a fraction of a second. The result is a list of candidates sorted by probability. Results must subsequently be manually verified by photo experts. AI use and mobile investigation via app The technical modernization is the driving force. Since September 2024, the BKA has been using a system based