Conservative hardliner admits: lack of data retention has no impact on crime clearance rate

Uwe Schünemann, conservative home affairs minister of the German Land of Lower-Saxony, admits in a reponse to a parliamentary question:

Erhebliche Auswirkungen im Hinblick auf die Aufklärungsquote bei Straftaten, die im Zusammenhang mit dem Tatmittel Internet begangen wurden, sind für das Jahr 2010 nicht festzustellen.

English translation:

Significant impact in terms of the clearance rate for crimes that were committed in connection with the Internet for the year 2010 can not be determined.

After a constitutional court ruling, Germany has had no data retention in place since 2nd of March 2010.

Fun fact I: Schünemann just received a Big Brother Award in Germany for the second time. German laudation here.

Fun fact II: The question came from Social Democrats. This is the party that was crucial for adopting data retention in the EU in 2005 and then later in Germany. They have been losing so many votes in recent years (of course also for factors not related to privacy) that they seem to move into the right direction again. Hopefully.