Cologne: How bad is the situation on Neumarkt really?

Created: 07/03/2022, 20:22

By: Johanna Werning

How bad is the drug problem on Neumarkt in Cologne really?

(IDZRW montage) © Horst Galuschka/Imago

Is Cologne's Neumarkt drowning in drugs, rubbish and faeces?

At least that's what local residents say.

What police and city say.

Cologne – The discussion about the Neumarkt does not stop.

The local residents?

Just desperate now.

The reproach?

The Neumarkt is drowning in rubbish, dirt and drugs - especially since the new drug consumption room opened, according to local residents.

"Drugs are being dealt, bought and consumed everywhere," says the citizens' initiative for the future of Neumarkt, describing the current drug situation on Neumarkt.

"The situation is unbearable." Residents no longer dare to go out onto the streets and into the city?

She does nothing, the accusation goes on.

But is the situation in Cologne really that bad?

24RHEIN reports on this.

Drug problem at the Neumarkt

► The basic problem:

The Neumarkt in downtown Cologne is increasingly becoming a drug hotspot.

According to the citizens' initiative, the problem has even worsened since the drug consumption room was opened in the city's health department.

► The allegation of the citizens' initiative:

"Everywhere addicts who consume drugs: in the house entrances, underground car park entrances, toilets of cafes, side streets, subway areas and stairways.

And it gets even worse when evening falls.

Then the conditions become unbearable.” Nevertheless, the city of Cologne does not provide any support for the residents, it is said.

► What does the city say?

The drug consumption room is well used.

"There is a consistently high demand for medical advice, a high need for further advice and referral to other help systems." In the coming weeks, the offer is to be further expanded.

At the same time, there are several measures to solve the garbage and drug problem on and around the Neumarkt.

► How bad is the situation really?

According to the Cologne police, the area around Neumarkt was and is a drug hotspot.

This also leads to an increase in aggressive groups of people, littering and pollution.

In order to solve the problem, close cooperation between drug help, street work, the city and the police, among others, is necessary.

This is currently being worked on.

Cologne Neumarkt: This is how the police assess the situation

24RHEIN asked the Cologne police: Is Neumarkt actually sinking into the drug swamp?

"The Neumarkt and the areas of Lungengasse and Josef-Haubrich-Hof are and were, even before the opening of the drug consumption room, a meeting point for the homeless and drug addicts who stay there before or after visiting other local support facilities such as the methadone distribution point in the health department."

And according to a police commissioner, there is a sad explanation for this: "Due to their physical condition, visitors to the facilities are sometimes not able to cover long distances and therefore often stay in the immediate vicinity." This can also be observed on Neumarkt.

The problem with this: Not only people themselves stay in the vicinity, other drug users and drug dealers are also increasingly drawn to the Neumarkt.

And that is not without consequences for the square in the city center, the police commissioner explains further: Because it leads to negative "side effects, such as littering and pollution from drug paraphernalia and excrement."

Cologne: drugs and garbage at the Neumarkt - police deployment statistics

But does that also affect the deployment statistics of the Cologne police?

In the areas around Lungerngasse and Josef-Haubrich-Hof, the basic number of police operations over the past five weeks has been in the single or low double-digit range.

However, there is an increasing trend for the deployment figures around the Neumarkt.

But: “A comparison is not meaningful solely because of the changed conditions in times of a pandemic,” emphasizes the police chief.

Neumarkt: This is how the police and the city of Cologne want to solve the drug problem

However, it is clear that the drug problem on the Neumarkt cannot be solved that easily.

The Cologne police are also aware of this.

“The problem of the Neumarkt is a holistic task that requires close cooperation between drug help, street work, the city and the police, among others.

We're working on that," the Cologne police promised.

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And the city of Cologne also recently emphasized that the city's measures are working and should be further expanded in the future.

"In close cooperation with the network of Cologne police, the public order office, the Cologne transport company (KVB), waste management companies (AWB) and the "Searching Addiction Clearing" (ASC), the Center for Crime Prevention and Security tries to do this To increase the sense of security and the quality of stay on the Neumarkt.”