Violence, riots and unruly guests are affecting the employees of the Berlin swimming pools. The sick leave is high. Opening hours are reduced, the famous Columbiabad remains closed.
It’s hot in Berlin, it’s the day the certificates are issued – and with it the beginning of the summer holidays. But the well-known Columbiabad in Neukölln is closed – after a dispute between young bathers and the staff. This triggers another discussion about safety in outdoor pools. A letter from the workforce in mid-June, which was made public, provided additional fuel. It draws attention to “the intolerable extent of the circumstances,” according to a report by the “Tagesspiegel”.
Tempers are heated, but who can help in the open-air pool dispute? CDU leader Friedrich Merz demanded: “There will be no getting around a higher police presence in the outdoor pools.” His party is very surprised to note what is happening again in many outdoor pools, said Merz. “These are obviously larger groups of disinhibited young people, by no means only with a migration background, but also with a migration background.” Place references and house bans would have to be pronounced.
GdP spokesman: “Police officers are not lifeguards”
The police union (GdP) rejected the request. “It is not the job of the police to secure the fun slides in outdoor pools or to patrol the sunbathing area,” said Federal Chairman Jochen Kopelke to the editorial network Germany (RND). “Police officers are not lifeguards,” said Berlin GdP spokesman Benjamin Jendro.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) also reacted cautiously with regard to the burden on the police in the capital. At the same time, he emphasized: “We will not tolerate a small part of our bathrooms becoming lawless areas.”
Mobile guard in front of Prinzenbad
The Berlin police were present at the start of the holiday on Wednesday with a mobile guard in front of the Prinzenbad in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. She had already announced that she would be visible and approachable in this way again and again during the summer in front of selected pools. With a view to the current closure of the Columbiabad, just a few kilometers away, the location of the mobile guard of Directorate 5 was relocated to the Prinzenbad on Wednesday, as the German Press Agency learned.
Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) made it clear that she expects the pool operator to get the situation under control. “The Berlin baths must ensure safety in their facilities and be open to people who are looking for relaxation,” said Spranger. She brought the police, bathing establishments and social organizations together to discuss how to proceed. A working group had been set up in her house.
Columbiabad in Neukölln is closed
“The Berlin baths companies are taking the most recent incidents as an opportunity and will be putting all measures for safe bathing operations to the test in the coming weeks,” the company said. Ways are currently being sought to reopen the closed Columbiabad in Neukölln as quickly as possible.
According to a report by the “Tagesspiegel”, employees had already sent a letter to the management of the bathing establishments in mid-June. According to the newspaper, the house rules are “willfully disregarded” every day. Employees, women, minorities, especially trans and queer people, are increasingly threatened with violence. “Verbal attacks, spitting or bullying” are common. Staff are “consciously psychologically terrorized”.
Security personnel feel overwhelmed
The security staff is overwhelmed and unable to enforce house bans or report crimes. The officials write about a “blatant understaffing of the staff”. Among other things, they demand access during peak hours and day tickets only for families with children, constant police presence, only online tickets and named entry.
In response to the fire letter, a number of measures were taken, said the spokeswoman for the baths. Communication with the police has been intensified, managers are more present on site. In addition, workshops with external experts for crisis intervention were organized for the teams. “The executives and employees were also offered individual psychological support.”
Pool operator responsible for safety
The pool operator is responsible for security on the premises. When crimes are committed, the police are called in. Sometimes this is called for support when a bathroom is to be cleared because of an argument – such as on Sunday evening. The reason for this was a dispute between young people and employees of the pool and the security service, according to the pool operator.
According to the Berlin police, they do not keep statistics on how often they were called to swimming pools. In 2022, it registered outdoor pools 57 times as a crime scene for violent crimes, and in 2019 – and thus before the corona-related restrictions – it recorded 71 cases. Overall, the police registered 285 crimes in outdoor pools last year, in 2019 there were 358.
3000 outdoor pools in Germany
From the point of view of the managing director of the German Society for Bathing, Christian Mankel, violence in outdoor pools is not a general problem: “We have almost 3000 outdoor pools in Germany – and in these 3000 outdoor pools you have 4,5,6 or only 1 at the end of a day Bad, where something happens.” The problems have increased – “but they are not as extreme as they are currently perceived”. As a rule, it is mainly young men who behave incorrectly.
The Columbiabad is known nationally because there are often riots and problems with young people there. Parts of the Neukölln district are still considered a socially deprived area, and many people with foreign roots live there. In 2006, a fire letter from teachers at the Rütli School made headlines nationwide – a lot was done for the school afterwards.