The “Security in the city center” project in Düsseldorf has ended. © picture alliance/dpa
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More patrols, more street social work, more light – from the point of view of those responsible, a security package has curbed excessive violence in Düsseldorf’s old town. “We have done that,” said Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU) on Tuesday at the conclusion of the “Security in Düsseldorf City Center” (SIDI) project, which was started 18 months ago.
North Rhine-Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) also summarized: “It has become quieter.” Preliminary figures show that the police in Düsseldorf had less to do with violence, confusing situations and outstanding offenses this summer than in the summer of 2022.
Measures and results of the project
Crime development: In the third quarter of 2023, 68 relevant crimes were recorded on weekends in the old town. These included assault in public spaces, sexual offenses and robbery. According to Reul, there were 93 relevant crimes in the third quarter of 2022 – almost 30 percent more. However, a final evaluation cannot be delivered until February. In recent years, the old town and the Rhine promenade have repeatedly been the scene of bloody riots among mostly young people, some of which have ended in death and sometimes hit random victims in the state capital’s popular nightlife area.
Waffen: Düsseldorf, like Cologne, has a weapons ban zone in the old town. For over a year, the Düsseldorf police headquarters have been regularly checking on weekends with large numbers of personnel. The units have already struck four times with more than 11,000 identity checks in one night and seized several hundred weapons.
Knife ban: The Interior Minister is skeptical about calls for a general ban on knives. “A ban without control makes no sense,” he points out. He is therefore currently favoring concentrated control operations, which have already taken place in Bielefeld and Bonn. This year there have been no fatal knife attacks or outstanding incidents in the old town in Düsseldorf, said the head of the SIDI project and former police director Harald Wilke. He was almost happy that headlines from Düsseldorf now focused on the plague of mice in the old town.
Alcohol ban: Düsseldorf’s mayor would be sympathetic to a ban on the consumption and sale of alcohol in public places in the city center, but believes it is not legally enforceable. Whether a ruling by the Higher Administrative Court on Brusselser Platz in Cologne would provide a new legal basis still needs to be examined, said Keller. “It’s no use issuing bans that we either can’t control or that have no legal validity.”
In the kiosk: In recent years, kiosks have sprouted up like mushrooms in the old town – with the opportunity to stock up on alcohol everywhere. However, he does not see a way to curb this with regard to freedom of trade, said Keller. “A lot is done there that goes beyond the mere sale of consumer goods,” admitted the city leader. Reul added that the authorities could only carry out inspections on an ad hoc basis.
Double stripes: From the point of view of everyone involved, “double patrols”, in which a total of four people from the police and public order office are on the move, have proven to be very effective. “That brings more people onto the streets,” said Reul. Depending on the situation, police officers or public order office employees could intervene directly. “This speeds up and simplifies.” A common contact point directly on the banks of the Rhine, where the joint patrols start, has also strengthened the cooperation.
Licht: “In the evening and after hours, many citizens perceived the banks of the Rhine as a place of fear,” reported the acting head of the Düsseldorf police headquarters, Silke Wehmhörner. The city has therefore improved the lighting in the city center with 15 individual measures. The replacement of the 86 ball lights on the banks of the Rhine is outstanding. In the future, the police can increase their brightness if necessary “to make the work of the emergency services easier and to bring troublemakers and criminals out of the anonymity of the darkness,” according to the final report.
Street social work: Another component of the de-escalation concept is the intensification of outreach street social work. According to the information, 2,600 contacts with individuals or youth welfare actors were recorded during the project; Around 40 people received further help and advice.
Old town round: From the perspective of the project partners, the networking of all actors and the regular exchange of information between everyone involved in security in the old town is the greatest benefit. The “Old Town Round”, which meets every Monday morning to exchange experiences from the previous weekend, will remain intact, assured Britta Zur, head of the public order department. “Everyone really comes together in this briefing: the police, the city, the restaurateurs and also the old town community.”
Example: The Düsseldorf package of measures could also provide examples for other cities, said Reul. However, he does not now have the plan to transfer the model to all major cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. “If the findings are correct, they can be adopted.” In Düsseldorf, there has been a lot of positive feedback from residents, restaurateurs, business people and guests of the city, said Keller.
dpa
2023-10-24 17:29:10
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