1. An opto-electronic apparatus for the monitoring of a protection area ( 5 ) comprising at least one protection device ( 1 ) which works in a non-contact manner and which comprises an evaluation unit ( 6 ) for the generation of an object detection signal on the intrusion of an object ( 12 ) into the protection area ( 5 ), characterized in that an image detection unit ( 8 ) is coupled to the protection device ( 1 ), which works in a non-contact manner, for the detection of an areal or spatial image detection area, with a secondary monitoring area ( 10, 11 ) disposed close to the protection area ( 5 ), but outside the protection area, being detectable by said image detection unit ( 8 ); and in that the protection device ( 1 ), which works in a non-contact manner, is controllable by the image detection unit ( 8 ).