Weißer Ring warns of the consequences of violence against emergency services
The White Ring warns of the consequences of increasing violence against emergency services. "Every attack on rescue workers endangers people who are in need through no fault of their own a second time," said Patrick Liesching, Federal Chairman of the aid organization for victims of crime, to the German Press Agency in Mainz. "Politics and society must join forces to protect the cornerstones of our community, such as the rescue services and voluntary work, from attacks," demanded Liesching, who is also head of the Fulda public prosecutor's office. "There is an urgent need for a uniform national definition and recording of violence against emergency services." This lack of standards is a problem.
Violence against rescuers continues to increase. According to official data, they have risen by around a third to around 39,000 per year since 2019. According to a survey by the Weißer Ring, the number of police press releases on these attacks has increased more than tenfold in the past ten years. According to Liesching, a survey conducted by the association among the interior ministries of the federal states and the federal government revealed: "The perpetrators are mostly male Germans under the influence of alcohol." And: "Neither the reporting behavior nor the dark field have been researched."
The rising trend in crime against rescue services is a significant concern, with incidents increasing by approximately a third since 2019. To effectively combat this issue, there's a pressing need for a unified national definition and reporting system.
Despite the escalating crime against emergency services, the root causes, such as perpetrator profiles and reporting behaviors, remain largely unexplored, which hinders effective rescue services' protection.
Source: www.dpa.com
