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Hotspot Neustadt - Is the Police Helplessly Watching? - Are the Residents Overreacting? - Is Neustadt Dangerous?Can the police manage the growing chaos in Neustadt when their patrols hardly make a difference? How much longer can the frustrated residents endure the constant noise, violence, and flourishing drug trade? Is there a neighborhood hidden behind the historic old building facades that has long since gotten out of control? Neustadt is architecturally beautiful with its historicist and Wilhelminian-style buildings. Old building facades adorn Merseburger Straße, and passersby would not immediately realize how tense the situation in this district of Weißenfels really is. Or maybe they do, because the street scene changes drastically as the day ends. 
Camping chairs are set up in front of the houses, and many residents turn the sidewalk into their second living room. Loud singing, talking, arguing, and music playing continue late into the evening. Residents communicate in many languages. And if these are the things a passerby can observe, what must it be like to actually live in Neustadt? For some time now, the public order office and the police have been patrolling visibly even in the evening hours. They try to calm things down by their mere presence, but quite often they are called away to other locations when things get out of hand elsewhere. Noisy and rioting people are heard almost daily in Neustadtpark. The next morning, traces of broken glass and litter reveal the aftermath. The residents are frustrated and feel abandoned by the police and regulatory authorities. Their complaints are downplayed and sometimes even portrayed as exaggerated, xenophobic, or troublemaking. Discontent is spreading, and the residents are fed up. The beautiful old town district is increasingly degenerating into a drug marketplace and ghetto. “It’s no longer fun to live here. We’ve lived in Neustadt for 30 years. First on Merseburger Straße, and for some years now on Weinbergstraße. We always had many foreigners as neighbors, also many welfare recipients, but we never felt unsafe. Only in the last three years, after dark, I only leave the house with our big dog and a stick. I’ve been hassled several times by young foreigners. I’m afraid. The police lack consequences. They have nothing to fear, and the young men know that,” reports a resident. The police called to the scene only record personal details and issue dispersal orders, a neighbor shouts down from the window. “Well, what else are they supposed to do? If they take them away, they’re out again by the next morning at the latest, and then you better brace yourself if you want to confront them. It’s really just crap now. Ten years ago, we had problems here too, but not like this. Sure, drugs were always sold here, but the police made regular raids, and then things calmed down for a while. Today they pick up one drug dealer, and four new ones pop up like mushrooms without much effort. I’m surprised we don’t find some idiots overdosed every other day,” he continues. “I live near Neustadtpark and witness the drug trade every day. The worst part is some get really bad under the influence of crystal meth and threaten people. And now it’s happening in broad daylight,” reports another resident near Neustadtpark. “A woman was recently threatened with a baseball bat in broad daylight near Neustadtpark. Yesterday evening, they again had really loud music and were breaking bottles in Neustadtpark. When the police come, they’re quiet, and then I’m the one who has to report the problem. There is someone here who has been in prison several times, was violent again, and is still free and dealing drugs.” Listening to the reports of Neustadt residents, the same issues always stand out. The social hotspot of Neustadt has shifted from “socially weak” to criminal. What were small thefts a few years ago have now become large-scale drug dealing and violence. Those who can avoid Neustadt, especially in the evening and at night. Even though police patrol, Neustadt does not become safer. Many offenses are no longer reported because the population feels abandoned. “It makes me sad that the police don’t believe me,” says one resident. “What I found pretty extreme once: When I ordered medicine at the pharmacy on Jüdenstraße that they didn’t have in stock, they told me they wouldn’t deliver it until the next day because the delivery driver is afraid to drive through Neustadt at night,” says another resident, and many other Neustadt residents probably feel the same. But how can relief be provided? More police presence?That is hard to justify if no complaints are filed. Strict enforcement is always a double-edged sword. Police brutality is quickly accused. “Arrest them and throw them in jail, better yet deport them if they’re not from here” — that sounds like a good solution, but it’s hard to implement. Trials take time, and that goes for both prosecution and deportation. So better do nothing and wait? That’s no solution either. Certainly, a good start was made by increasing police and public order office presence, but it’s not enough just to be there; “there must be harsh examples set, otherwise we have no chance,” says a resident and businesswoman from Merseburger Straße.“I already close my shop at 4 pm so I’m not leaving too late. I know I lose sales because of that, but I can’t afford the rents downtown. And my customers don’t want me anywhere else either. However, many of my neighbors, even on the opposite side of the street, have given up. Our windows have been smashed. Break-ins two to three times every six months — you almost get used to it. Being spat on at the windows is disgusting but nothing new. But recently, I had to clean a huge pile of shit from my steps that didn’t belong to any dog — that was too much for me. I’m really fed up. If it weren’t for the customers, I’d have locked the door long ago. I can sell my stuff elsewhere too.” One could start by checking if the measures created at the hotspot to ensure safety and social balance in Neustadt are in place. These include a series of alternative approaches beyond mere repression, such as:
A holistic approach that combines prosecution with prevention, integration, and social support is key to solving challenges in social hotspots. Mere repression often isn’t enough for long-term success. Instead, alternatives such as social work, community policing, mediation, and preventive programs should be promoted to address root causes of crime and achieve sustainable improvement. Urgent Need for Action in NeustadtWe will research and publish what the strategy for the Neustadt hotspot should look like in due time. Residents can only be advised not to put themselves unnecessarily at risk, to report incidents, to hold on for now, or to look for other housing. Unfortunately, these are not satisfying recommendations or prospects, but currently, that is all that can be offered.Defusing the Neustadt social hotspot could help, but that requires a comprehensive approach addressing multiple levels. Both structural and social causes of problems like crime, poverty, unemployment, and social exclusion must be tackled. Some important strategies that could work together to sustainably ease a social hotspot include:
Author: AI-Translation - Carla Kolumná | 21.08.2024 |
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