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Sign prohibiting alcohol consumption at the main train station in Hamburg
Photo: Christian Charisius / dpa
Anyone who sips their beer bottle or takes a sip of schnapps at Hamburg Central Station faces a fine of 40 euros. And anyone who is repeatedly caught by the police has to pay up to 200 euros: Since Tuesday, there has been an alcohol ban in Hamburg Central Station, or more precisely: a ban on alcohol consumption. The ban applies inside the station and in certain areas outside the premises, yellow warning signs indicate this.
Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD) justified the ban with the observation that a significant proportion of crimes at the main station are committed under the influence of alcohol. The decision is intended to bring more security and order.
Hamburg Central Station, which is frequented by more than 500,000 travelers every day, is a hotspot for crime and a meeting place for drinkers and the homeless. Not far from the train station is the “Drob Inn” drug facility, where hard drugs are consumed legally.
In mid-2022, with the end of the pandemic-related restrictions, the situation at the main station worsened, says Daniel Schaefer, spokesman for the interior authority. "We have noticed a greater influx of people from very precarious situations, as well as people who also commit crimes." The police have repeatedly found that alcohol is a trigger, "particularly in violent crimes, which often take place within the scene happen."
Subjective feeling of security
Deutsche Bahn announced that the ban was intended to “improve the subjective feeling of security in our station.” This begs the question: What about actual security?
“Above all, we want to significantly reduce the number of crimes and administrative offenses in which alcohol plays a causal role,” says Schaefer. But the subjective feeling of security also plays a role, for example through the increased presence of police and security forces. Schaefer says: »Some areas are not in a particularly attractive condition. That also has something to do with the narrowness, lighting and cleanliness. The city cleaning service has therefore increased the frequency of cleaning.
The alcohol ban is therefore part of a package of measures. There has been a ban on weapons at Hamburg Central Station since October 1st. In addition, video surveillance is to be expanded.
The alcohol consumption ban is initially limited to two years. But how can it have a lasting effect and what measures are still needed? Experiences in other cities show what is important - and how legally sensitive a ban is.
In Freiburg, the city imposed a ban on alcohol in an area of the city center in 2008 because of bullying, fights and trouble with drunk young people. A law student sued against this - the Baden-Württemberg Administrative Court (VGH) in Mannheim agreed with him. Other courts also ruled in similar cases, for example in Görlitz in Saxony or in Forst in Brandenburg.
Abstract danger not sufficiently documented
Call Stefanie Grünewald. She is a professor at the Hamburg Police Academy and says: "The procedures have often failed because the abstract danger could not be adequately proven." There was a lack of meaningful statistics on the connection between alcohol and crime. Or the court viewed milder interventions as more appropriate. “You shouldn’t hit the high keyboard right away,” says Grünwald. A third factor is "that the regulation was written in such a vague way that as a citizen you couldn't know what you were allowed to do and what you weren't allowed to do."
However, Hamburg differs from previous cases. “It is now common knowledge that crime is high at the main train station and has been proven by relevant statistics,” says Grünewald. "Hamburg has been trying for a long time and in different ways to make the main station safer." In addition, the Senate has secured itself well by changing the Hamburg Security and Order Act.
The expectation of the prohibition zones should not be that this alone would solve the problems caused by alcohol. The causes must be addressed specifically. But the alcohol ban zone could be an important contribution.
Bans in Nuremberg and Munich
Bavaria has long had experience with alcohol-free train stations. Since 2018, the consumption of alcohol has been prohibited in and around Nuremberg train station. A year later, the state capital Munich also followed suit.
The bans are apparently having an effect, at least according to the police and authorities. The area around Nuremberg Central Station used to be considered a hot spot. The situation has now calmed down somewhat.
The public order office of the city of Nuremberg draws a positive conclusion: the security situation has improved significantly, says Katrin Kurr, head of the public order office of the city of Nuremberg, which is responsible for controls around the main train station. “The police statistics at the time showed that around three quarters of all crimes at Nuremberg Central Station were committed under the influence of alcohol,” explains Kurr. That was the basis for introducing the alcohol ban. The ban gives the police the opportunity to issue expulsions in order to prevent crimes and to be able to intervene immediately on site.
A study in Munich is intended to provide information about how effective the alcohol ban at the main train station actually is. The regulation expires at the end of April and the investigation could lead to an extension.
But can a ban alone actually turn hot spots into places of peace and tranquility? Out of sight, out of mind?
Social workers and associations doubt the effectiveness of alcohol bans in public places. “Just because we ensure that certain groups are no longer visible at the main train stations does not mean that the problems will disappear into thin air,” says Norbert Gerstlacher, spokesman for the addiction help association “Blue Cross Munich eV”. "People don't stop drinking, aggressive behavior or willingness to use violence don't decrease - the problem simply shifts."
Street workers instead of bans
Apparently one of the goals at Munich Central Station was not to scare arriving tourists. “Homeless people and drug addicts are not a pretty sight, you don’t want to expect that from visitors,” says Gerstlacher. "But that doesn't address the real problem." The alcoholic people who used to hang out at the main train station have now moved to the surrounding districts.
Instead of driving them from one place to the next, concepts are needed: street workers or offers of help that reach out directly to those affected and possibly help them get therapy. “Alcoholics also need social contacts,” says Gerstlacher. »They have meeting places where they sit together, chat – and drink. If you take away these meeting places, they will either meet somewhere else or become lonely, which makes alcohol abuse even worse.
Blanket bans, for example to drive away alcoholics, homeless people or addicts, disregard human dignity. “People who are addicted to alcohol are not seen as part of our society, but everyone has their own story and no one wanted to get there,” says Gerstlacher. “How are they supposed to get their self-esteem back and get out of this cycle if they are excluded?”
Offers without any obligation to consult
The Caritas alcohol consumption room on Dachauer Strasse behind Munich Central Station is intended to be a contact point: a meeting place for “people who have found their social home in and around the main station.” They can meet there, drink alcohol and talk to social workers if necessary, without being forced to seek advice.
In Nuremberg, too, offers of help, such as the presence of street workers, were expanded parallel to the introduction of the ban, says Kurr, head of the public order office. The alcohol ban was only part of a package of measures intended to make the main station safer.
“A shift has taken place, you can't deny that, you can't magic the people away,” says Kurr. "However, we do not notice that the problems have shifted one-to-one to another location; we are no longer observing the concentrated occurrence in one place."
In Hamburg, they not only want to ban alcohol at the main train station, but also offer services there for alcoholics and drug addicts. A new coordination office began its work on Tuesday, as the social authority announced. In addition, security personnel should be on the way. So-called social space runners are intended to address those in need of help.
According to Interior Senator Grote, the social authorities are also considering whether drinking alcohol could be allowed in some rooms of the aid facilities. Last year, the Green Party proposed setting up “drinking rooms” at the main train station.
more on the subject
Crime: Weapons are now banned at Hamburg Central Station
Operation at Hamburg Central Station: On the move with the Federal Police
Alcohol prevention program in Dortmund: "It's always other people who are addicted" By Tobias Großekemper
The station mission also has its place at the main train station. Manager Axel Mangat said in writing through his spokeswoman that they welcomed the ban on alcohol consumption, provided that it could reduce the willingness to use violence and the number of crimes in and around the train station.
However, Mangat shares Bavaria's concerns: "Even people who are peaceful but alcoholic, who have been in informal spaces in this environment, are also being pushed out." They would migrate to surrounding residential and business districts and could benefit from outreach help there. such as street social work, will be more difficult or impossible to achieve, he fears.
The interior authorities say they are looking very closely at what changes can be achieved through the alcohol ban. Where necessary, the measures are also adjusted.
With material from dpa.