1. A device ( 1 ) for identifying and classifying movement patterns of gatherings of people in an image sequence of a surveillance scene, comprising a plurality of moving objects, an interface ( 2 ) for recording the image sequence, a calculation module ( 5 ) for determining an optical flow field ( 10 ) in the surveillance scene by evaluating the image sequence, an identification module ( 6 ) programmed to compare one of the group of the optical field, subregions thereof and both to one or more patterns in order to identify a movement pattern of gatherings of people in the image sequence and outputting the movement pattern of the gatherings of people; and a classification module ( 7 ) including selection of the following assignments: a movement pattern having flow lines ( 11 ) directed toward a common point ( 12 ) is assigned to the surveillance situation “gather of people”; and a movement pattern having flow lines ( 11 ) that extend around a common point ( 12 ) is assigned to the surveillance situation “avoid”.