roadblocks
Last generation protests have cost Berlin police 233,000 hours of work
Berlin police officers took away a member of the “Last Generation” environmental group in mid-December
© Paul Zinken / DPA
Far more people can identify with the goals of the last generation than with their methods. One thing is certain: the activists’ protest actions cost law enforcement officers time and money.
During street blockades and other protests by the climate group Last Generation, Berlin police officers alone have now worked 233,000 hours. Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) called the number on Monday in the Interior Committee of the Berlin House of Representatives. 756 suspects were found, 2700 criminal charges were filed and 761 processes were identified. For comparison: With around 2000 working hours per year, this corresponds to 116 full-time positions.
The last generation group started street blockades almost a year ago, with activists sticking themselves to the road. There was also such a protest on Monday: around 8 a.m., according to the police, eight people blocked the Beusselstraße exit on the A100 in the direction of Wedding. Four of them would have stuck themselves.
Interior Senator Iris Spranger sees protests as “politically motivated crimes”
Spranger said in the committee that a fee of 241 euros would be charged per mission. In the meantime, a fine of 2,000 euros would be imposed on suspects who had stuck themselves in Berlin more than eight times.
The interior senator rated the protest actions as “politically motivated crimes”, but also said: “Nevertheless, the border to extremism has not yet been crossed.” Nevertheless, the actions had a strong impact on the everyday lives of Berliners, she added. “We cannot and will not tolerate that.”
When asked by a member of parliament for information about how a Berlin association paid the activists, the senator said that the “climate stickers” themselves had made it public “that they were paid, that they received donations.” The authorities would have a keen eye on where these funds come from. “I don’t know” that the Berlin Senate supports an association that pays the activists.