In six weeks, the police counted 30 robberies and assaults on Kampstrasse alone. The security authorities recognized the problem and initiated measures early on to counteract it. Since the end of September, Dortmund police have used strategic searches as an instrument alongside increased presence and control measures. From Thursday (24 November), another tool will now be added: video surveillance.
From today, Tuesday (22nd), the police's mobile video container with four cameras will be set up on the north-eastern sidewalk at the junction of Kampstraße and Freistuhl. A fifth camera has also been installed on the video container. It is only used to secure the container and not for actual video surveillance. In addition, two further cameras will be installed at the Hansastrasse/Kampstrasse junction and near Reinoldikirche. The Kampstraße 1 to 49 and Freistuhl 2 to 7 areas will be monitored. Video surveillance will start on Thursday at 6 pm. Following a precise evaluation of the recorded crimes, the times under video surveillance have initially been set as follows: Sundays to Wednesdays from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and Fridays from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. The images are evaluated at the police control center. Outside the monitored times and also in the case of gatherings in the monitored area, there is generally no video monitoring.
The video surveillance at Kampstraße is planned up to and including 1 January 2023. From Thursday, visitors will be made aware of the cameras and the observation times by more than 30 signs in the affected area.
Police Commissioner Gregor Lange is pleased that this additional measure could be implemented so quickly: "The city center is one of the flagships of our city. It attracts Dortmund residents every day, as well as visitors from many other regions. It is unacceptable for a group of criminal adolescents to spoil the experience of all these people. Our task as security authorities is to counter such developments immediately with all the means at our disposal!"
The head of the authority recently looked at the statistics with concern: "In the period between January and October this year, there were 81 assault offences in the video-monitored area alone. That's around twice as many as in the same period last year. The total number of crimes has also risen significantly by around 50 percent. I find this development unacceptable. We must and will continue to take consistent action against it"
That is why the Dortmund police had already extended the strategic manhunt by a further 28 days at the end of October. This resulted in more than 150 bans, around 40 criminal charges and more than 25 seizures of objects. The Dortmund police made several successful arrests - including of the main suspects in the series of robberies (we reported).
The video cameras are intended to further increase the risk of detection in the Kampstraße area, also to enable even earlier preventive intervention with the aim of preventing and solving crimes.
"However, it is important for me to say that video surveillance does not stand alone. It is part of the strategy that we have developed in cooperation with network partners such as the City of Dortmund, the Federal Police and DSW 21 to ensure greater security. Especially now that the Christmas city will attract even more people to Dortmund," says Lange. "We will therefore not let up in our presence and control measures on Kampstraße and in the surrounding area in order to keep the pressure on this group, which commits crimes here, high - and also to counteract possible displacement."
See more press releases on this topic:
https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/4971/5280258
https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/4971/5329155
https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/4971/5329667
https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/4971/5329649
https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/4971/5365907
https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/4971/5334870