Tuesday, 22 October
Berlin’s police commissioner seeks new approach for ‘violent immigrants’
According to a report from rbb, Berlin’s police commissioner Barbara Slowik has commented on the apparent increase in the number of arrests among migrants, stating, ”I believe that we have reached the limit of what can be achieved.”
In view of the supposed increase in violent crimes committed by immigrants, Slowik is calling for new measures to deal with repeat offenders and suspects suffering from mental health issues.
She believes that housing young immigrant offenders in a separate closed facility would improve integration, particularly if they are removed from their environment.
With regard to violent crime and so-called knife offences, Slowik has claimed she is concerned about the percentage of mental health problems amongst refugees, and that the capital offers insufficient support for these individuals.
The police commissioner sees it as a collective task to counter a rise in violent crime committed by immigrants, stating in an interview with rbb, “This is important for our constitutional state and therefore for our democracy.” This also includes accompanying immigrants “from the very beginning into a democratic value system, in day-care facilities, schools and youth centres.”
Olaf Jansen, head of the Central Immigration Office in Brandenburg, links the problem to failed integration within the administrative bureaucracy: “What we are doing completely wrong in Germany is not letting people work directly.” He calls for a reduction in bureaucracy and a decoupling of the residence status of immigrants from their right to work. “Cut the red tape, let people work,” he said in an interview with rbb.
The Berlin police define immigrants as anyone with asylum seeker status, a tolerated stay permit (Duldung), persons entitled to protection, quota refugees, and those in Germany without legal authorisation.
