The German Fire Brigade Association calls for a tough crackdown on attacks on emergency services. “The state must ensure that fire brigades, but also rescue services and police, as representatives of the state, are not attacked without severe penalties,” said association president Karl-Heinz Banse of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “The laws allow it.”
Everything is already settled. “We don’t need harsher penalties. I just want those penalties to be enforced. I want judgments to be made,” Banse said. “It is unacceptable that our people are endangered, almost run over and afterwards it is presented as a petty crime.”
“Our colleagues from the rescue services are observing increasing aggression during operations,” said Sebastian Späthe, spokesman for the Johanniter, using the example of the state of Saxony. Most of the time it is verbal abuse. According to statistics from the Ministry of the Interior, the number of cases actually recorded in which rescuers become victims of a crime has been relatively constant for years. According to an overview by the Interior Ministry, between 2015 and 2021 more than 100 members of the fire and rescue services were victims of a crime.
Firefighters and rescue services in Baden-Württemberg were exposed to violence more often than in the previous year. The number of crimes against them increased by 5 to 187. Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) appealed to the people in the country to “stand in front of our emergency and rescue services like a protective wall”. Police officers, firefighters and emergency services deserved respect and recognition. “Anyone who threatens or even injures emergency services damages the social climate and cohesion, he crosses a red line,” Strobl told the dpa. “That is not how it works.”
The police in Hamburg reports more violence against officials in the first three quarters of the current year. 1958 cases were recorded, 184 more than in the same period last year, as the police announced when asked by the dpa. Among them were 899 physical attacks on law enforcement officers.
In Bavaria, however, the Bavarian Red Cross (BRK) and the Johanniter reported a noticeable decline. However, official figures for 2022 are not yet available. The internal statistics listed fewer cases than in the two previous years, said BRK spokesman Sohrab Taheri-Sohi.
The fire brigade association also complains about increasing disrespect: “Respect for those who help others should increase again.” This is not least important for motivating volunteers. “Who is willing to take part anywhere if they have to reckon with being spat on at the scene,” said President Banse.
According to him, emergency services are also hindered in their work by onlookers. “We know that we sometimes have fewer emergency services. But today, in almost every operation, you have to turn off additional forces to prevent onlookers from getting too close to the scene.” According to him, in the event of accidents on federal roads or motorways, two to three rescuers are needed to stretch tarpaulins as privacy screens. “This is to prevent onlookers from taking pictures. That’s a problem.”
