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Cologne police strike back: youth gangs in Mülheim and Dellbrück in their sights!
In the Kalk district of Cologne, the police and youth welfare offices are taking action against youth crime in order to reduce crimes and offer prospects.
Cologne police strike back: youth gangs in Mülheim and Dellbrück in their sights!
In the east of Cologne, a youth gang is causing trouble in the districts of Mülheim, Kalk, Höhenhaus and Dellbrück. Since the end of last year, reports of crimes attributed to the group have been increasing. These offenses include, among other things, throwing stones on KVB trams, lighting firecrackers and even setting fires on playgrounds and sports fields. A worrying sign: Over 50 criminal complaints have been registered in Dellbrück in the last few weeks, all of which can be traced back to the activities of this gang. To counteract this, the Cologne police set up the “Lost” investigation group, which specifically targets youth crime. Lucia Rolving, the head of the investigation group, reports initial successes and a decline in incidents in Dellbrück.
In collaboration with other institutions, the police are implementing measures that not only aim to hold young people accountable, but also to show them prospects. Education and discussions at eye level should play a central role. Last week, a total of 15 kiosks in the affected districts were checked because child protection is often violated and alcoholic and banned products are sold to minors. These preventive measures are part of the comprehensive approach to combating youth crime in Cologne, as ksta.de describes in detail.
The path from juvenile delinquency to support
A look at the fates of affected young people often reveals dramatic backgrounds. For example, Marco, a young man from Cologne, has taken his own path into crime after a difficult childhood with alcoholism in the family and a father in prison. At the age of 12, he started skipping school and was involved in various crimes such as shoplifting. Despite his young age, there were no legal measures and the youth welfare office was the only point of contact. It was only at the age of 14, when Marco had already committed bodily harm, that he was convicted under juvenile criminal law and given a warning.
Marco was later taken to a “care center,” where he continued to get into trouble. The Cologne House of Youth Law finally intervened; it offers special programs to interrupt the criminal careers of young serial offenders. Across North Rhine-Westphalia, 23,610 young people were registered as multiple suspects, 442 of them at the Cologne police headquarters alone. There are currently 90 young people in the program, although only four of them are girls. The focus is on making it clear to young people the consequences of their actions and providing them with permanent contacts.
The fight against juvenile crime continues
The feedback from the program is promising, with the success rate being around 50%. This number shows that it can be possible to persuade some participants to live a crime-free life or at least to keep them within acceptable limits. At a time when youth crime is on the rise, it is more important than ever to create preventive measures and support systems that help children and young people find the right path. The police authorities and the youth welfare office work closely together to understand the background to the crimes and to take targeted action against this challenge.