Abendzeitung: The area around the main station is showing clear signs of neglect, building ruins, rubbish, homeless people, alcoholics, and drugs are openly being sold in the Old Botanical Garden. The city and police have announced that they will take action against this. What is planned? Thomas Hampel: Police video surveillance will be introduced in the next few weeks. This is an important addition to our previous measures – such as increased controls and police presence. But that alone will not be enough to make the Old Botanical Garden safer again. This is an area that we as the police cannot solve. As a result, the mayor has set up a task force to work out solutions here as soon as possible. We also want the issues of lighting, revitalization and trimming of trees and bushes to be implemented as soon as possible. We need to make progress very quickly on this.
Speaking of drug-related crime, is it increasing in the Old Botanical Garden? We want the Old Botanical Garden to remain attractive to the population, a place where people like to spend time. It must not become a place of refuge for certain scenes.
What kind of scene is it in the Old Botanical Garden? The situation has worsened since Corona. There are areas where Eritreans and Somalis mainly hang out and commit crimes. In the front area there are Afghans, there is no need to make a secret of it. You just have to walk through, everyone can see it.
What is your impression? I looked at it myself some time ago, when it wasn’t in full bloom and wasn’t so densely covered in vegetation. But even then there were a lot of confusing, dark places where you couldn’t see or even recognize anything.
What do you say about the rest of the station district and the many construction sites that are not in use? These construction sites have a massive impact. The population’s sense of security is permanently affected. On the other hand, it is a magnet for a certain clientele. Then there is the issue of beggars and homeless people, and when there are mountains of rubbish at Stachus, that doesn’t make a good impression.
What needs to happen here? The city has recognised that urgent action is needed. Anyone arriving at the main station by train or subway has to go through there. The ruins of the old Hertie, the vacancy in the old Kaufhof at Stachus, all of this plays a role.
What is the police doing? We have informed the city of our findings and conclusions. I also had a personal conversation with the mayor and we looked at the situation on site together.
The reconstruction of the main station and the construction of the second main line could take another ten years. Will it stay like this during this time? A clear no, we cannot wait for the next ten years. The situation must change, and quickly. That is also the city’s clear will.
Could it get worse? There is the “broken windows theory,” which says that if one shop window is smashed, it won’t be long before others follow. The same applies to the littering of the surrounding area. There is also a certain pull effect that attracts homeless people. The same can also apply to junkies who see it as a place of refuge. It’s like a spiral, and the average citizen no longer goes there. This is a point that we as the Munich police cannot approve of.
Have you ever thought about a 24-hour presence? There used to be a “Schwammerl” at Marienplatz, if you remember. It’s been gone for 25 years, it was a kind of police kiosk. Putting up a police container doesn’t solve the problems. The station district simply needs to be made more attractive. To do this, we need restaurants, incentives so that people like to walk through Schützenstrasse and similar areas again. The city’s task force is to draw up proposals at short notice, which can then be implemented quickly.
The alcohol ban has proven to be a success in the train station district. Should it be expanded further locally – especially during the European Championships? Legally, that is not easy. There are relatively high hurdles. I have to be able to prove specific incidents of disruption. On the other hand, we have had good experiences with the ban on glass bottles and the use of plastic cups for beer to go, for example on the party mile. A general alcohol ban would probably not hold up legally, in my opinion. But I am glad that the alcohol ban around the main station will remain in place for the next four years.
What has recently become apparent in the communications from the presidium is that knives are being used more and more often by perpetrators to stab or at least to threaten. Isn’t a knife ban like the one at the Oktoberfest long overdue? A blanket ban in the city will not work.
But in other big cities there is a widespread knife ban on party streets. That’s true, for example in Hamburg in the Bahnhofsviertel. But that’s not our problem. If someone doesn’t have a knife, then next time they might be out with a screwdriver. That’s not any better. So far we don’t need a general knife ban, not even in the Old Botanical Garden. Even there the legal situation doesn’t allow it.
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The original of this article “Police chief on powerlessness in Munich’s train station district: “We can’t solve it”” comes from Abendzeitung.
