This was initially planned for April and May Police expand CCTV in Bonn

Bonn · The police will resume CCTV on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn from the weekend and even expand it. Thus, the mobile camera towers could be used in other places in the city.

Video cameras were already used on the Brassertufer last year

Video cameras were already used on the Brassertufer last year

Foto: Benjamin Westhoff

That the Bonn police would continue the instrument of video surveillance of public areas was to be expected after the experiences on the banks of the Rhine last year. From the coming weekend, regular filming will again take place along the riverbank promenade on both sides of the Rhine.

In addition, the authority is extending the radius of action of its two camera trailers: They can be used from now on also at the Poppelsdorfer avenue and on the Bertha von Suttner place. For these places Bonns police chief Frank Hoever, explained on Wednesday at police headquarters that he ordered - initially for the evening hours - a temporary video observation. The rule is initially valid for the months of April and May, but can be extended beyond that.

"It is a measure to avert danger" that serves to prevent crimes, the head of the authorities explained his decision. In addition, he said, the chances of solving crimes are naturally much better with available video footage than without it. And finally, according to Hoever, the subjective feeling of security of the citizens improves.

The selection of the zones that are now the focus of the cameras has as its background, that many people living along the Rhine and passers-by think back to last year with extremely unpleasant feelings. At the beginning of the good weather period, aggressive groups of young people on the banks of the Rhine caused problems. Crimes, including bodily harm and sexual offenses, were committed, and even the police themselves sometimes came under fire and became the target of attacks.

Only with a permanent presence on the weekends, combined with mostly enormous personnel deployment, did things become noticeably calmer on the Rhine. When the cameras intervened for the first time in September, the problem zone seemed to be permanently pacified, at least in the vicinity of their field of vision.

The two camera trailers cost Bonn police a total of 120,000 Euro, partly in the form of special allocations. These were conceived in the police headquarters in Oberkassel and, according to those responsible, will also inspire other cities to follow suit. But as proud as the Bonn police are of the devices with their variable telescopic poles that can be extended up to six meters, each with seven cameras, they are not allowed to freely decide completely about their use.

"Video surveillance can be carried out at particular locations that are conducive to the commission of crimes if it is to be expected that crimes will continue to be committed there," Hoever said, outlining the legal requirements. After all, the police must be able to react quickly to criminal acts and the entire measure must be proportionate.

What happens in the field of view of the cameras is tracked and evaluated in parallel in real time by specially trained police headquarters staff. "The goal is to detect imminent crimes at an early stage," says Hover. If that is the case, a patrol car immediately moves to the scene to deal with the problem.

Both the aforementioned legal hurdles and, above all, tactical considerations were cited by the police on Wednesday as the reason why no video surveillance has yet been planned for the areas of Kaiserplatz and Hofgarten, known as the Dorado of flourishing drug businesses. All the more attentively thePoppelsdorfer avenue inhabitants might observe the video plans of the police for their neighbourhood. Last summer, permanent nocturnal disturbances caused by private parties, combined with petty crime, led to the founding of a residents' initiative, whose complaints have now also found their way into the debates of the city council.

In the Poppelsdorfer avenue, Hoever announced, they will react flexibly to need for action. The head of the city order service, Carsten Sperling confirmed on Wednesday that in the ranks of the city administration they are "extremely grateful" for the fact that the police uses the legal framework and thus corresponds to a long-cherished desire in the population, who added: "The prevention outweighs the encroachment on fundamental rights by far. We are convinced that this is the right way to make Bonn safer." And that the commitment of the police video surveillance continues after the recent local election.

The police also emphasized that there would be no filming on private property or in apartments. The cameras serve crime prevention purposes. Their use in connection with possible curfews, as they are currently being discussed in view of the Corona pandemic, is definitely not planned, Hoever said when asked. Police intervention is conceivable, however, if "serious violations" of the Corona rules are observed. However, Hoever said, this would apply equally in the event that, for example, a serious fall by a cyclist was noticed.

(Original text: Rüdiger Franz, Translation: Mareike Graepel)

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