Averting danger/maintaining public safety and order

Measures to prevent damage that could be caused to individuals or the general public if no official action is taken to intervene in the course of events are referred to as "averting danger".

The security authorities and the police have the joint task of averting danger. The police only take action to avert danger if it does not appear possible for the security authorities to avert danger in good time. The police are responsible for the preventive combating of criminal offenses (as a sub-category of averting danger).

The district administrations, district-free towns, towns not belonging to associations, municipalities not belonging to associations, large towns belonging to districts and municipalities belonging to associations are the competent security authorities for emergency response tasks, unless special regulations on responsibility have been made.