Germany adopts Stasi scent tactic

No - the entire world is not on a slippery slope to end civil liberties - or, of course, it might be. Check this out:

Sniffer dogs can use the collected odours to pick out individuals

The German authorities are compiling a database of human scents to track down possible violent protesters at the G8 summit in June.

The method, once used by East Germany's secret police, the Stasi, involves collecting scent samples in advance from selected targets.

The scents are then passed to police equipped with sniffer dogs who can pick the individuals out amid a crowd.

Past G8 summits have suffered serious unrest, which Germany is keen to avoid.

A state that adopts the methods of the East German Stasi, robs itself of every... legitimacy Petra Pau, opposition politician

The Interior Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, has defended the authorities' decision to use scent tracking, saying it is a useful tool to identify suspects.

Kid H.

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