Commodity and property offenses have increased in 2019 - but Weilheim is still extremely safe. This showed the police security report in the city council.
Weilheim - "The risk of becoming a victim of a crime is low in Bavaria - and even lower in Weilheim." Harald Bauer, head of the Weilheim Police Inspectorate, commented on the police statistics for 2019 for the urban area at the recent city council meeting. Although the number of registered crimes rose by 7.6 percent to 1,284, the comparative figure from 2018 was a “record low”, the number from 2019 “still below average”. A good 65 percent of all crimes were cleared up.
Many of the figures presented by Bauer's deputy Thomas Stumpf have been underpinned by experience. When it came to raw offenses, Bauer explained, “85 to 90 percent alcohol and drugs are involved”. The fact that narcotics crime in the city area fell significantly from 164 to 107 cases was a "normal fluctuation", depending on the capacity of the police. Here, further "increased surveillance" was needed. The "very low number" of five burglaries was emphasized. Because this area is "particularly important for the feeling of security," says Bauer.
690 suspects identified
A total of 690 suspects were identified in 2019 for crimes in Weilheim. 74 percent of them are men, almost 80 percent are adults. 41 percent of the suspects are foreigners - "a significantly higher number than the proportion of foreigners in the population", according to AfD City Councilor Rüdiger Imgart. But police chief Bauer put the number into perspective: One had to take into account that this contained a high percentage of violations of foreign law, such as residence regulations, "which only a foreigner can commit". Many forged documents were also recorded. Commodity offenses committed by foreigners were mostly directed against other foreigners, for example in shared accommodation, according to Bauer, since there was "little external impact". Overall, Weilheim and the whole of Upper Bavaria stand out with comparatively low numbers of foreign suspects.
The increasing number of cases of attempted call center fraud are worrying: They include the “grandchildren's trick” with which older people are often brought for thousands of euros. According to Bauer, there were 15 to 20 such attempts in Weilheim in 2019, so prevention is important. The PI chief praised the eight-member security guard, who has been doing evening patrols in Weilheim since March 2019, for example at Dietlhofer See, in the Au and at the barbecue areas. So far, there has been only positive feedback.
Bauer listed the fire on November 13, 2019 at Weilheim Hospital under “extraordinary events”: the cause was “definitely intentional or negligent arson”, there is also a specific suspect
The number of traffic accidents has dropped
The number of traffic accidents is encouraging: in 2018 there were a total of 808 in the urban area, 738 were registered last year (minus 8.7 percent). The number of accidents with personal injuries fell particularly sharply. Nevertheless, a total of 16 people were seriously injured and 89 were slightly injured. There are no special accident focal points in Weilheim. Incidentally, for the first months of the current year, the police register a sharp increase in cycling accidents. In practice, it is "very difficult to monitor" that cars maintain the newly required distances when overtaking cyclists, says Bauer when asked by Claus Reindl (BfW).
Manuel Neulinger (Greens) wanted to know what the situation was with politically motivated crime on site: "Very, very little, right and left," answered Bauer. Marion Lunz-Schmieder (CSU) asked about the staffing of PI Weilheim. The target strength is 69 civil servants, but there are "some defects", says Bauer: "We can handle it, the numbers show", but additional staff is always welcome.
Read also: News about the planned development on Krumpperplatz in Weilheim
