The area around the Kaiserbrunnen and the underpass to Poppelsdorfer Allee have long since become a replacement meeting place, and complaints about drug use in car parks and backyards are also being heard from around the Residence and Bristol hotels, which are currently closed down due to corona.

But it does not seem to be limited to this. One businesswoman who serves her customers at the top of Kaiserstrasse sums up her regular observations: "Spit on windows, smeared signs, vulgar behaviour". She has also seen strangers in the building and the odd fire on the façade. To support her, she is in contact with some lawyers from the neighbourhood who share her views.

What is more, the public order authorities are still present in the area. Although those responsible apparently have their eyes on the area, they sometimes come to different conclusions: Staff from the Gabi security guard station, together with their colleagues from the police, check the Kaiserplatz and the underpass as part of their normal patrols several times a day, a spokesman for the city administration informs us on request.

Additional checks are made following reported complaints or irregularities. “From the point of view of the Gabi, the situation is currently very quiet and rather inconspicuous,” says the spokesperson, explaining that the newly erected ‘shelter’ at the edge of the bus station and away from the information systems has been well received, so that there are less people on the central island.

On request, the police informed us that the number of persons present has recently increased, as well as the number of checks and, in correlation, the number of offences detected. The preliminary figures for 2020 for Kaiserplatz, for example, indicate a significant increase, namely to 168 criminal investigations to date (2018: 84; 2019: 140).

A good third of these are drug offences, which in turn indicates an increased intensity of controls. "We have noticed a rise in the number of cases. It is noticeable that the number of cases is significantly higher in the 'warm' season because more people are outside", says a police spokesperson. The majority of offences relating to bodily injury - 18 in 2020 so far (2018: 4; 2019: 16) - are "intentional, simple bodily injury". In many cases, according to the police, there are also disputes in the scene that end in physical violence. A ban on alcohol in the square was discussed by politicians years ago but was rejected.

Christa Skomorowsky from Aids-Hilfe Bonn sees the current narcotics law and "criminalisation" as the main problem. "Even during the prohibition in the USA, the black market and alcohol consumption flourished more than ever before," she says, drawing a historical comparison. She sees the idea of assigning drug users to a certain place of residence as "unrealistic". In any case, she says, social work on the ground and offers of substitution have improved a lot compared to the past.

Gerhard Roden, head of the homeless relief service at Bonn's Caritas is not in favour of keeping certain people out of the public sphere. But he expressly adds: "Drug use in central places must be stopped. I see that the Gabi security guards are very present here". Meanwhile, Roden is dealing with a completely different problem: "We are currently thinking intensively about how to ensure that none of the 50 to 60 homeless people in the city freeze to death during this 'Corona winter'.

Meanwhile, another location for the scene has been cancelled until further notice: The Stadtwerke have fenced in the area around their building on Thomas-Mann-Strasse/corner of Rabinstrasse - according to a spokeswoman, in order to secure the construction site for the upcoming installation of lifts together with material storage.

Since the work will probably take a good two years, there is no question of dismantling the fence for the time being. This should please the residents of Thomas-Mann-Strasse, but the people around Kaiserplatz will see things differently.

(Original text: Rüdiger Franz, Translation: Caroline Kusch)