Franziska Giffey in “Early Start”
“If you react quickly, there are also changes in behavior”
01/12/2023, 10:00 a.m
Berlin Mayor Giffey wants to prevent a repeat of the recent New Year’s Eve riots. The focus is on young offenders who have lost respect for the state.
After the New Year’s Eve riots, Berlin’s governing mayor, Franziska Giffey, emphasized the role of a rapid state response to young offenders. “It is very clear that three quarters of the perpetrators are under 25 years old. It is a young generation. There are many who were born and grew up here in Berlin and some of whom are very far away from democracy, from participation, and also do not have the necessary respect for the representatives of the state,” said the SPD politician in the “early start” of ntv. You can do a lot with youth social work here. “But you also have to say: If a limit is crossed, there must be consequences, including specific penalties.”
The Berlin police have increased the work in schools. “So if, for example, there is an incident at school, the police, school social workers, parents are called together immediately,” says Giffey. Only if you react quickly, “even if it’s just about communication, about verbal violence”, then there will be changes in behavior.
Under the impression of the New Year’s Eve riots, Giffey announced that the police would be better equipped, especially with so-called bodycams. “Because just the fact that someone has a body cam has a de-escalating effect,” Giffey said. “If a crime happens, then we just have better evidence that serves the criminal prosecution.”
“Of course we’re reaching our limits a bit”
Dashcams could be used in fire engines and rescue vehicles. This had already proven itself in isolated cases on New Year’s Eve. “We now also have a lot of video material for New Year’s Eve, which we evaluate, which serves to preserve evidence.”
With a view to taking in refugees, Giffey said that Berlin had taken in 100,000 Ukrainians. Then there are the asylum seekers. “It’s a huge challenge, over 1,000 people in December alone,” said the Governing Mayor. She “exchanged ideas with Munich, Hamburg and Bremen” on Wednesday. The big cities are particularly challenged. “Of course we’re reaching our limits a bit.” You have to talk about better distribution. Giffey referred to places in Germany where population decline had to be dealt with. In contrast, “everything” would be concentrated in the cities. She does not want to close herself off to receiving, accommodating and integrating people. Cities just can’t do it alone. “We need a nationwide effort,” Giffey said.