Stop and search in Bonn Police systematically looking for burglars and pickpockets
Bonn · As of this Monday, the Bonn police can again stop and search persons and vehicles without concrete grounds for suspicion. The background to this is an increase in crime figures.
With the earlier onset of darkness in the winter months, the number of burglaries is once again on the rise. The pre-Christmas period is also a peak season for pickpockets. Against this background, Bonn's Chief of Police, Frank Hoever, has again ordered the so-called "strategische Fahndung" (stop-and-search) to tackle pickpocketing and burglaries. This Monday saw the start of a series of traffic checks throughout the entire Bonn police jurisdiction, which includes the city of Bonn, Königswinter and Bad Honnef as well as the Rhine-Sieg district on the left bank of the Rhine.
The checks will be carried out primarily on all entry and exit roads for 28 days. With the opening of the Bonn Christmas market this Friday, the focus will also be on Bonn city centre and Bad Godesberg city centre, including the St. Nicholas market, for 28 days.
This Monday, around 30 police officers, supported by customs, the riot police and employees from the tax office and the Bonn city treasury, were on both sides of Landgrabenweg. They mainly stopped delivery and tradespeople's vehicles. The officers not only checked the passengers but also the contents of the vehicles. Questions about compliance with the payment of the minimum wage or possible outstanding claims on the part of the city treasury were also clarified. "I'm actually in a hurry," said one tradesman who was stopped. "But I think such checks are perfectly understandable and right." The man was soon able to drive on, everything was fine with him. By the afternoon, the police had reported several offences. Among other things, one person was carrying a prohibited one-handed knife and the load of one vehicle was not properly secured.
Security measure
Strategic stop-and-search is a measure to avert danger, explains police spokesperson Simon Rott. It authorises the police to carry out stops and visual checks. Due to the high number of cases and the developments that are to be feared, it is an ad hoc measure, independent of any specific suspicion. Taking account of the constitutional principle of proportionality, people can be stopped, questioned about their identity and objects and vehicles they are carrying can also be inspected. "As part of our special checks, we want to combat gang and property crime and focus in particular on mobile, travelling offenders," says Rott. Checks will be carried out from 12 noon to 10 p.m. in the coming weeks.
The checks in Bonn city centre and Bad Godesberg city centre will take place daily from 10 am to 11 pm. The focus will be on pickpocketing, which Rott says is still at a high level. According to the report, pickpocketing this year is around 17 per cent higher than the average of the past five years. In absolute figures, the police have so far recorded more than 900 cases in their area of responsibility, of which around 800 are in Bonn.
The Bonn police used the instrument of stop-and-search for the first time last November. At the time, this was also due to rising numbers of burglaries and pickpocketing.
Original text Lisa Inhoffen and Axel Vogel
Translation: Jean Lennox
