“We have had a problem with youth violence for a year now”

class=”sc-3778e872-0 gWjAEa”>

From the late afternoon, young people romp on the Südermarkt in Heide (D). Time and again they harass older people who want to do their shopping in the supermarket or order a meal at the snack bar. Attacks, property damage and theft occur. This is evident from the crime statistics of the Itzehoe police.

The inhabitants of Heide live in fear – and not only since a girl (13) was tortured for hours by her peers and filmed – as it turns out. A father reports on RTL that he has forbidden his children to enter certain parts of the city without supervision. It is especially dangerous for the residents on the central square on the Südermarkt.

“Usually from late afternoon, people gather here in groups and occupy the entire space,” reports the employee of a neighboring shop in the “Schleswig-Holsteinische Zeitung”. “At some point the aggression will increase, there will be bullying and then naked violence will reign,” she adds.

Mayor demands legal consequences

The mayor of Heide, Oliver Schmidt-Gutzat, is at his wit’s end. “We have had a problem with youth violence for a year,” he admits in an interview with “Bild”. He speaks of a “hard core that we cannot control with our capabilities”. Several measures have already been taken. “The police are very present on the scene,” says Schmidt-Gutzat. And: “We also want to decide in consultation with politicians whether we should also engage a private security service.”

Schmidt-Gutzat wants to increase the number of social workers and hire a street worker. He appealed to the judiciary and called for tough action: “As a city, we hope that in the cases that are known by name, the actions will also have legal consequences for the perpetrators in a timely manner. The laws provide the opportunity for a broad range of measures against the perpetrators.” (nad)

Source: Blick