More police, less crime: security at Marienplatz is increasing

More police, less crime: security at Marienplatz is increasing

Marienplatz, Schwerin, Deutschland - Schwerin. The Marienplatz, known as the main crime in the state capital, has turned to the better in the past few weeks thanks to increased police operation. Since the beginning of november, the police have been patrolling there, including emergency services from the riot police. Kerstin Lellwitz, the branch manager of a stationery store, describes the situation: "The police are visibly present here." Before that, almost two crimes per day were registered here, which means an alarming increase of 40 percent since 2019. With the new police strategy, the crimes fell to 57 compared to 83 in the previous year in November 2024. So dead zones of crime seem to be urgently necessary - this is reported by the Ostsee-Zeitung .

new tactics and successes

The reinforced police presence goes hand in hand with massive controls. Police officers establish contacts with citizens and stand operators at the neighboring Christmas market. "This year I don't notice much of crime, last year it was worse," confirms a market stand operator. The local contact officer, police chief commissioner Autzen, ensures that people feel safe and that the police do not have to react to the report of crimes. "We want to build trust through presence and conversations and convey a feeling of security," said Autzen-a strategy that, according to

The police initiatives not only aim to prevent crimes, but also to strengthen the feeling of security of the population. Juliane Zgonine, the police press officer, emphasizes the importance of this increased visibility to signal criminals: "The police are here on site." Despite the successes, there are critical voices. Henner Schacht, center manager of the Marienplatz gallery, notes that more presence alone cannot solve the problems and warns of tackling the causes. "We don't solve the problem with more police presence alone," he adds.