Berlin’s Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) has again condemned the attacks on the police and rescue workers. “This is absolutely unacceptable and should be condemned and pursued consistently,” Giffey said on Wednesday on rbb24 Inforadio. The Governing Mayor explained that she would invite to a summit against youth violence in the coming week.
In response to the “massive disrespect” and the violence, a “mixture of an outstretched hand and a stop signal” is needed, the SPD politician is quoted as saying in a RBB statement. Offenses must be punished consistently and quickly.
In this context, Giffey recalled the Neukölln model by former juvenile court judge Kirsten Heisig. Heisig had advocated the principle that juvenile offenders and intensive offenders should be punished immediately.
Giffey rejects accusations from CDU leader Merz
The Governing Mayor also emphasized that “new impetus” and a broad effort in several areas are needed here. “There must be a concerted action in school, in youth social work, in police prevention work, but also in youth court assistance,” she said.
Giffey rejected the accusation by CDU leader Friedrich Merz that her Senate shared responsibility for the escalation on New Year’s Eve. The police and fire brigade were deployed “in full force”. She could not see that the police had been restricted in their work, rather there was full political support for the emergency services.
In recent years, the police have been massively increased “under social democratic responsibility,” said Giffey. The outbreaks of violence are also not a “Berlin phenomenon”. The same thing happened in other cities.
The government also sees youth welfare and social work as a duty
Giffey also addressed the perpetrators directly on Twitter: “I say to the perpetrators: The rule of law will not tolerate such attacks against the police, rescue workers and other helpers – no matter who they are carried out by.” Beyond criminal prosecution, many are now asked to schools, in youth welfare, in integration and social work. “There are no easy answers to such complex problems, even if some are now suggesting that,” she continued.
In the discussion about a ban on firecrackers, the governing mayor called for realism. “I don’t think that a ban at the federal level will be enforceable for all firecrackers,” said Giffey, referring to the other federal states. At the same time, she warned against simple answers and emphasized that she was not concerned with banning “everything across the board”. “I would think it would be good if there were restrictions on certain firecrackers,” said the Governing Mayor.
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