Violence in Berlin outdoor pools: Police have 48 offenses in the first half of the summer season

Violence in Berlin outdoor pools: Police have 48 offenses in the first half of the summer season

The police registered a total of 48 violent offenses in the first half of the summer season in the first half of this year of the summer season. This emerges from a response from the Senate and the police at a request from the Greens. Most of the acts committed from May to July 18 were physical injuries. However, some cases of sexual harassment, threat, coercion and robbery were also reported. The crimes were distributed evenly to the months of June and July and occurred in various Berlin baths, such as the Columbiabad in Neukölln, the Prince's Bad in Kreuzberg, the summer pool in Pankow, the outdoor pool in Wedding, the Strandbad Plötzensee and the Olympiad.

The alleged perpetrators were 29 men and male young people and 6 women. The Senate announced that 82 written house bans were granted. However, it was not announced whether the crimes were mostly minor offenses or more serious cases. In the previous year, a total of 57 such crimes were counted in the Berlin outdoor pools.

The most common reasons for conflicts in the bathrooms are escalating private dispute, arguments on slides and diving towers, sexual harassment with defense reactions by companions and entering the site without tickets, which leads to conflicts with the security personnel

The number of these offenses fluctuates strongly depending on the weather and number of visitors in the swimming pools in summer, the Senate said. This year, 1.5 million euros will be spent on security measures and security guards in the bathrooms.

The Columbiabad in Neukölln has already been cleared three times this season. For the first time due to a mass accumulation of 60 to 80 young people on June 9, the second time because 50 young people stormed the slide on June 21 and the third time on July 9th because of arguments between youth groups and the security service as well as the bathing masters.

new security concepts are to be developed that include additional measures. Identity controls and the installation of video cameras could play a role in the inputs of the bathrooms. This is to further increase the number of security personnel. Critics fear that these additional measures could be at the expense of families and students. There is also a discussion about getting in with fewer visitors on hot days, selling more tickets on the Internet and determining time windows for visiting the baths, similar to how it was during the Corona pandemic.

The Berlin Bäder-Bäde (BBB) ​​found that the first half of the summer season was shaped by the debates about the escalating situations in some outdoor pools. Due to the bad weather in the past few weeks, there have been no further greater incidents.

sources:
- Answer by the Senate and the police to a request from the Greens
-Berlin Bäder-Betriebs (BBB) ​​