The Left Party (Die Linke, i.e. the commies) in the Neukölln district of Berlin wants to abolish the police practice of raiding shisha bars and other culturally enriched locations in the fight against organized crime, because it “stigmatizes” people.

Many thanks to Hellequin GB for translating this article from Junge Freiheit:

Amazement in Berlin

End clan raids in shisha bars: Left party push causes criticism

BERLIN. The announcement by the Left Party in the Neukölln district of Berlin that it would stop raiding clans in shisha bars has met with criticism. “That is exactly the wrong signal to send to the population. That is not how it works. This is a setback in the fight against criminal structures,” said the Neukölln CDU district chairman Falko Liecke to Die Welt. “Now we have an ideological leadership.”

The background is the reallocation of the Neukölln City Council. While the health and social affairs departments are to be led by the SPD and the CDU, the Left Party will take over the regulatory office in the future. For this, the party wants to propose regional scientist Sarah Nagel. “We were surprised: The public order office is not so obvious at first. But we will tackle the tasks now. We have long called for an end to the stigmatizing raids in shisha bars and Spätis [ethnic convenience stores]. A work-up is necessary here,” Nagel announced a few days ago.

Amazement in the Senate

The announcement also caused astonishment in the Senate Department for Home Affairs. “Police measures are generally directed against individual criminals or groups regardless of ethnic, cultural or family affiliation,” Die Welt quoted a spokesman as saying. The large number of breaches of law found shows that organized crime can only be combated by maintaining control pressure and punishing corresponding violations.

According to the paper, there are also upsets among the SPD and the Greens. According to a joint draft program, the district should continue to work together with the police and the public prosecutor’s office “to support the fight against organized crime, including in the form of so-called criminal clan-based groups and their dominant appearance in public spaces.”

Neukölln is considered to be the stronghold of organized crime in Germany. District Mayor Martin Hikel (SPD) took action against it in the past, among other things with so-called association missions. Last year he defended this strategy: “It is not racist to fight crime,” he told Tagesspiegel.

The term “clan crime” should be deleted

But even in his party there was not unreserved approval for the consistent action against clans. In 2020, the Migration and Diversity Working Group tried to abolish the term “clan crime”. A motion for “Protection of the migrant Berlin trade. Against the use of the term clan crime” was not accepted.

The left-wing politician Niklas Schrader had previously criticized: “Crimes are deeds, not families. Crimes are committed by individuals or groups.” The term clan crime is directed against certain families, although there are numerous members who are completely innocent. As a result, people with the same surname could no longer find apartments, for example.