Police Commissioner Dr. Sandra Müller-Steinhauer reported on the security situation in Bielefeld at the meeting of the Main, Economic Development and Participation Committee on 24 January 2024.

In this context, the head of the authority summarized the key aspects of security in Bielefeld as well as the tasks and measures of the Bielefeld police in a statement:

Authority focus

"For years, we have been focusing on combating crime in public spaces in Bielefeld's city centre. As part of our "Security in Bielefeld's city center", all directorates are intensively involved in ensuring security in Bielefeld's city center.

Everyone in the city can rely on us to do our job - both repressively and preventively. We carry out various measures to ensure safety (identity checks, raids, banning orders, area entry bans, arrests), including patrols, but also as part of action days and priority operations.

We will not succeed in making Bielefeld even safer and increasing objective and subjective safety on public streets, paths and squares on our own. This requires an overall package, which we are constantly improving with our partners in the city and beyond.
This cooperation agreement, which links the respective measures, contributes to this.

Although all stakeholders from the city and police are working together to become even better, a lasting change in the situation in Bielefeld's city center cannot be achieved overnight. However, the police and the city, working closely together, are showing staying power. We are available to citizens at all times."

Crime trends

"As the police, we cannot accept an increase in violence in the city center and a resulting decrease in citizens' sense of security.
That is why we are monitoring developments in the number of cases very closely in order to adapt measures and counter negative crime trends.

In Bielefeld's city center, there is a noticeable increase in street crime (violent crimes, narcotics crimes, property crimes in public spaces) within regionally definable areas. These are recurrently the area of the so-called "Tüte", the Kesselbrink and Jahnplatz as well as the immediately adjacent streets.

The case numbers considered refer to the aforementioned regional areas and include selected areas of street crime in public spaces. This selection includes robbery and theft offenses, damage to property, assault and sexual offenses as well as narcotics crime in public spaces.

In the overall analysis of the selected offenses in all of the above-mentioned areas, an increase can be seen in the comparison period from 2019 to 2023 - with the exception of 2021. In the comparison period, the highest total number of cases was reached in the year 2023, which can be attributed in particular to the increased number of narcotics crime offenses and recorded theft offenses. The increase in the area of narcotics crime is due to our police focus. Thanks to our focus last year, more crimes were uncovered and reported."

Kesselbrink

"A large proportion of the overall increase is attributable to Kesselbrink, where the number of narcotics crime cases has risen by 165 percent since 2019. With the exception of aggravated theft and, most recently, assault offenses, there has also been an increase in the other offense areas."

Station/"Tüte"/Boulevard

"In the station/"Tüte"/Boulevard area, there has been an increase in the offenses under consideration over the years 2019 to 2023, in particular an increase in theft offenses of 119 percent, but a decrease in narcotics crime of 23 percent in the same period."

Jahnplatz

"The number of cases at Jahnplatz has remained at a constant level since 2019 - with the exception of 2021."

Ostmannturmviertel

"According to the indicators available to the police, the Ostmannturmviertel is not a hotspot, but serves as a "transit route" in the area of narcotics crime. In the Ostmannturm district in particular, narcotics and assault crimes fell in 2023.
We as the police understand the concerns and needs of residents in neighborhoods that are used as walkways by consumers and dealers. Displacing crime, especially the drug scene, to residential areas such as the Ostmannturmviertel is not helpful and not the aim of the police.
The Ostmannturmviertel is part of the police measures as part of the authorities' focus on "Safety in Bielefeld city center"."

Streppenstraße /Treppenplatz

"Since 2019, the total number of cases in the Treppenstraße / Treppenplatz area has fallen by a total of 55 percent. Compared to the inner-city hotspots, the number of incidents in the Treppenstraße area in 2023 is noticeably lower. The number of deployments corresponds to the recorded street crime offenses. In the operations and patrol activities, the forces deployed on site predominantly find that the reasons for the operations are concentrated on a few detectors in the vicinity of a café. There is no apparent concentration of crime there. The district service also seeks and maintains regular contact with the reporters, the café operators and the guests."

Outside incidents

"A quarter of all outside incidents (excluding traffic incidents) in the entire city area of the Bielefeld police (7,049 incidents out of a total of 26,955) are concentrated in a defined inner city area in 2023.
The concentration of incidents in the "Tüte", Jahnplatz, Kesselbrink and Boulevard areas is clearly evident. The crime hotspots and the areas with the most external incidents largely coincide spatially.
The "Tüte", Kesselbrink, Boulevard and Jahnplatz in particular are therefore rightly the focus of police operations."

Responsibilities

"The police are legally responsible for the prosecution and prevention of criminal offenses and for taking precautions for the prosecution of future crimes. The police also have the task of averting threats to public safety or order. However, the city of Bielefeld has primary responsibility for averting threats to public safety and order in the city area. If the general prevention of danger by the regulatory authority is not possible or not possible in time, the police have subsidiary responsibility. In this respect, the city is responsible for so-called public order disturbances (begging, urinating, littering, etc.). The police are responsible for the prevention, investigation and consistent prosecution of criminal offenses."

Police measures

"Almost 150 operations were carried out in the inner city area as part of the authorities' focus in 2023. In total, an increasing number of different measures were carried out in 2023 as part of the operations to focus on the authorities. In detail, around 1,400 identity checks were recorded, which resulted in misdemeanour reports, criminal charges, arrests, over 400 bans and bans on residence and numerous other measures (reports, residence investigations, etc.).
We will continue these measures in line with further developments.

Weapons prohibition zones and police video surveillance

"As part of our strategic planning, we have repeatedly examined both the establishment of a weapons prohibition zone and the establishment of police video surveillance at specific locations. Subjective security must not play a role here, only the legal requirements. Despite the particular developments described above at individual locations in the city center, the legal requirements under the NRW Police Act for video surveillance and under the Weapons Act for the establishment of a weapons ban zone do not currently exist.
This assessment will be continuously reviewed on the basis of further developments.

Regardless of the weapons ban zones, the carrying of certain weapons and knives is generally prohibited in public under the current legal situation.
This includes, in particular, butterflies, fist and drop knives and certain double-edged switchblade knives with a blade of over 8.5 cm, steel rods/deadly clubs/strike rings, irritant sprays without approval or test marks (no animal repellent sprays), simulant weapons (e.g. (e.g. toys that give the impression of being sharp firearms, soft air), cutting and thrusting weapons (batons, sabres, swords)."

Outlook

Child and youth crime

"We are particularly concerned about the development in the area of child and youth crime. In view of the increase in the number of cases and acts of violence, we have reason to believe that this is not just episodic behavior, but that criminal careers are becoming entrenched at an early stage. This is where it is particularly important to take countermeasures - together with the school and youth welfare offices and the public prosecutor's office. This is why we have been planning the establishment of a House of Juvenile Justice with our partners, the city and the public prosecutor's office, for some time now.
We will also work with the city to develop a concept to take preventative action directly in schools."

Presence

"We will work with the city to expand our joint presence in Bielefeld and, to this end, the city watch that has been successfully operated together with the public order office for years.
In addition, we are not only present in the city districts 24/7 throughout the year with the constant presence of our patrol service, but also with the offices of our 33 district service officers on the doorsteps of the people of Bielefeld in order to find out directly about their concerns and needs and to remedy them.
We are part of the Social and Crime Prevention Council of the City of Bielefeld (SKPR) and take part in security dialogues and individual meetings in the individual districts with the district service and regional officers."