Authority wants to lock up seriously ill homeless people - and collect gossip in court
Created: 01/12/2022, 10:03 AM
By: Markus Hofstetter
The city of Dortmund wanted to put a homeless wheelchair user in compulsory detention (archive photo) © Rolf Zoellner / imago
The Dortmund District Court rejects compulsory detention against a homeless person because of unpaid fines.
In the judgment, the authorities are severely criticized.
Dortmund - A seriously ill homeless person * in Dortmund has accumulated a large number of fines over the course of time.
According to the Dortmund District Court, the regulatory authority accused him of violating the Corona Protection Ordinance * and begging, among other things.
The fines ultimately totaled 7,325 euros, plus procedural costs.
When the person concerned did not pay the fines, the authorities wanted to impose coercive detention.
But the municipality picked up a gossip in front of the Dortmund District Court (Az: 730 OWi 237/21).
The court has refused enforcement custody against the homeless, drug addicted wheelchair user.
Dortmund district court rejects enforcement detention
The court's decision states that "the purpose of compulsory detention * is to force an unwilling - not incapable - to pay the fine".
In the opinion of the court, however, the person concerned can be assumed to be insolvent.
Because he only has the subsistence level *, has no realizable assets, receives no income, not even a Hartz IV *, and has no chance of a job.
The court also criticized the city authorities for acting disproportionately.
Because a single fine of 2200 euros has also been set, whereby the economic circumstances of the person concerned have not been taken into account.
Because he lives from "the hand in the mouth", so that he could not even pay the lower fine without endangering his livelihood.
Dortmund District Court clearly criticizes the authorities in the judgment
It is also not clear to what extent the person concerned should still be able to restrict his or her lifestyle with such high fines and such modest living conditions.
In this respect, it was up to the fine authority to set only those fines when punishing the administrative offense which, taking into account the personal and economic circumstances, would still have the character of a sanction.
Association demands consequences
The decision of the Dortmund District Court is celebrated by Harald Thomé.
For the founding member of the unemployed and social welfare association Tacheles from Wuppertal, the decision is “a slap in the face for the city of Dortmund and its fines glazing against the homeless”.
In Thomé's opinion, the administration must draw conclusions from the judgment.
“It is time for the city of Dortmund to rethink its regulatory policy against the homeless.” The first step should be an amnesty of all fines against this group of people.
* Merkur.de is part of IPPEN.MEDIA