Municipal crime prevention

The aim of violence prevention is to create a social climate in a community in which conflicts can be resolved peacefully. This is because the exercise of physical and mental violence violates human dignity. In addition, numerous studies show that children brought up with physical and mental violence often become perpetrators of violence themselves. Any misbehavior that occurs must therefore be explained to young people at an early stage - but in a non-violent and patient manner. The city of Stuttgart supports projects that take a strong stand against  domestic violence.

Civil courage is also an important element for peaceful coexistence in the community. The Stuttgart Security Partnership understands civil courage to mean socially desirable, active help based on the rule of law when there is a threat of danger to generally accepted values. This can range from giving elderly people a seat on the train to standing up for weaker people. In dangerous situations of greater intensity, such as criminal acts, the police should at least be notified. Strengthening, encouraging and guiding civil courage is an important goal of crime prevention work.

Addiction prevention measures and services do not focus exclusively on addictive substances, but above all on personality development. Following the principle of “strengthen protective factors - reduce risk factors”, it aims to promote personal resources such as self-esteem, frustration tolerance, creativity, sense of purpose, personal responsibility, self-confidence, and the ability to experience, enjoy and deal with conflict.

Addiction prevention starts as early as possible in childhood in order to be able to cope with difficult phases in life such as puberty. Addiction prevention is aimed not only at potentially at-risk individuals, but also at those who already show patterns of dependence.

For most people, burglary or theft are shocking experiences. The realization that a stranger has been able to penetrate one’s own area, where one otherwise feels safe, usually weighs much heavier than the loss of objects or money.

One aspect of crime prevention is therefore educating people about possible tricks and methods used by perpetrators in order to raise awareness of certain crime opportunities and to demonstrate simple precautionary measures to put a stop to thieves and burglars.

It is also important to recognize possible scams, such as false apartment offers or telephone fraud (false police officers, grandchild trick or promises of profits). The  Police Crime Prevention Service (opens in a new tab) provides tips on how you can protect yourself from such tricks.

The present day for young people is characterized by a large number and strong influence of media. However, the internet also contains problematic content that can have a particularly disturbing effect on young people. They can unexpectedly catch computer viruses, their personal data can be read out unnoticed and they need to be particularly careful when making purchases and downloads. In addition to parents, all those who are in contact with young people are called upon to strengthen their self-confidence in dealing with media.

Further information on this topic:

 www.klicksafe.de (opens in a new tab)

 www.polizei-beratung.de (opens in a new tab)

 www.zdf.de/gesellschaft/safer-internet-day (opens in a new tab)

 www.caritas-stuttgart.de (opens in a new tab)

 www.lmz-bw.de (opens in a new tab)

 www.medienbildung-stuttgart.de (opens in a new tab)

 www.gutes-aufwachsen-mit-medien.de (opens in a new tab)

 www.wissen-hilft-schützen.de (opens in a new tab)

In order to protect the basic democratic values of society, the Stuttgart Security Partnership resolutely opposes all forms of political extremism. Young people in particular are to be encouraged to critically engage with anti-democratic positions and to actively promote tolerance and a willingness to engage in dialogue. In this way, the attractiveness of left-wing or right-wing extremist and Islamist ideologies and group affiliations is to be countered. In addition to the target group of young people, the prevention work is also aimed at parents, educators, multipliers from the milieus, and socio-spatial actors such as youth recreational facilities or religious associations or centers.

People who grow up in difficult circumstances, who often do not have a school-leaving certificate or who have already been in conflict with the law, have a hard time finding their way back into society. Prevention should help them find a way out of this cycle and offer supportive services to help them find a new career and life perspective.

Young migrants are also affected to a large extent by structural disadvantages. Therefore, one goal of Stuttgart’s integration policy is to improve the educational participation and labor market integration of young people with fewer opportunities. In this way, self-esteem can be strengthened and delinquency prevented, because those who are integrated into society are less at risk of acting contrary to norms.

Sport is a strong approach to this. Because when playing together, non-violence, respect, fairness and adherence to rules are the basic prerequisites for the success of a shared experience. Sport offers the irreplaceable opportunity to reduce aggression and to test one’s own limits in a controlled way. A sense of achievement strengthens self-esteem, but it also teaches children how to deal with defeat. Sport thus makes a significant contribution to the development of one’s own personality and therefore plays an important role in prevention work.

Every day, thousands of people use public transportation, which is indispensable in a city like Stuttgart. Stuttgarter Straßenbahn AG (SSB) has set itself the goal of being one of the best local public transport companies. This also includes a high standard of safety. But passengers themselves can also help to ensure safety on public transport.

The  SSB (opens in a new tab) has summarized several tips on safety on and with public transport. These include the “stop on request” service, which is also offered on buses between regular stops from 9 pm. The  Women’s Night Taxi was also launched to ensure the safety of passengers.

Another program that promotes mindfulness in road traffic is “Augen auf... The train is on the left”. This is SSB’s appeal to road users to observe turning restrictions.

The Crime and Traffic Prevention Newsletter is published in various issues with interdisciplinary as well as subject-specific information. The newsletter can be subscribed to free of charge and can be cancelled at any time.

There are always situations in everyday life in which women feel uncomfortable or even threatened, especially when they are out and about alone. With the “Not with me!” project, a self-assertion course, we want to help you to better assess dangerous situations and act appropriately. The aim is to strengthen your self-confidence and show you alternative courses of action. The course is run by a conflict trainer and a police officer.

Aims

• Better assessment of dangerous situations
• Acting appropriately to the situation
• Strengthening self-confidence
• Learning alternative courses of action

Contents

• One unit of four hours, plus a short break
• Varied theoretical and practical units
• Facts and figures on the topic of safety
• Explanation of offender behavior
• Analysis of previous behavior
• Training of correct behavior
• Presentation of alternative courses of action

Dates 2025:

The project is initiated and organized by the crime prevention department of the state capital Stuttgart and the Stuttgart police headquarters. If you are interested, have any questions or would like to register, please call +49 711 216-25742 or send an e-mail to  kriminalpraeventionstuttgartde

Wasenboje - Safer space for girls* & women* at the Wasen
Twice a year, up to three million people celebrate at the Stuttgart Wasen. Unfortunately, critical situations for girls* and women* occur time and again: Verbal and physical assaults are not uncommon at the Wasen and other folk festivals, which is why the “Wasenboje” pilot project will be launched at this year’s festival from September 22 to October 8, 2023: A Safer Space at the Wasen, where girls* and women* can find a place to go and initial support from female* specialist staff in the event of harassment, threats or assaults.

The socio-educational or psychological specialists and volunteers* are specially trained for their work at the Wasen.

The project is initiated and organized by the  Crime Prevention Department and the  Equal Opportunities Department of the City of Stuttgart. If you are interested or have any questions, please call +49 711 216-80438 or send an email to  wasenbojestuttgartde