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Radical Living
  • 9 minutes ago
Is Berlin safer than its reputation suggests? This city-safety analysis explores what visitors and residents may want to know, from personal safety and criminal hotspots to the risks facing bikes, cars, and flats.

The discussion also looks at organized crime in Berlin and uses German police crime statistics as context. Whether you’re planning a trip, considering a move, or simply curious about urban safety in Germany, this commentary offers a focused overview of the questions behind “How safe is Berlin?”

Explore Berlin travel safety, living in Berlin, property crime, bike and car theft, neighborhood crime, and organized crime in the German capital.

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Travel
Transcript
00:00Berlin is a dangerous place. At least that's what many people think, especially
00:04from the countryside. But is it true? Is something dangerous only because it looks
00:10dangerous? Well, you're about to find out. In this video I'm going to cover
00:14everything from how safe is Berlin for you as a person, how safe it is for your
00:20property outside and inside and the general criminal activity around the
00:24city. Are you ready? Among all the cities in Germany, Berlin now is the most
00:35dangerous one. After years of being second place, we finally took the title from
00:40Frankfurt. Yes! That being said, Berlin is still a relatively safe city in a
00:46relatively safe country. I mean it's still Germany. How dangerous can it be here?
00:51Well, if you believe the global peace index here, we can see that Germany ranks
00:56in 23rd place. Which isn't too bad at all. But it seems like exporting so many
01:01weapons is really ruining our score here. Let's see who's down there at the bottom.
01:07Iraq, Sudan, Russia? Ivan, how do you feel about Russia being almost last place, huh?
01:13I think you misunderstand concept. In this game you try to collect as many points as
01:22possible, not as little as possible. Right. But let's come back to Berlin. Berlin may be
01:32dangerous for German standards, but if we compare it internationally to other major
01:37cities, Berlin is still a super safe city to be in. For example, Berlin doesn't have any of
01:42those no-go areas which are very common in big American cities. Here you can go
01:47pretty much anywhere without having to worry too much. Nevertheless, Berlin has a
01:52few hotspots where the police has special rights and can search anyone being there
01:57without having a probable cause. That's because those areas have a higher
02:02criminal activity than other parts of the city. And here's a map with all those
02:06places. But just because there's a higher criminal activity going on, it doesn't
02:11necessarily mean it's more dangerous. They all made the list for very different
02:15reasons. Rigaer Straße, for example, is home to Berlin's leftist scene, whose hobby it
02:20is to burn UP cars in the city. Gerlitzer Park made it for all the drug dealers
02:25hanging out there. Neulendorfplatz because of the high amount of night muggings
02:30happening there. And Alexanderplatz and Hermannplatz made the list because of all the
02:34petty theft going on there. And now we have live connection to Cottbus A Tor, the place in
02:39Berlin with the highest concentration of shady people in all of Berlin.
02:43Ivan, how's things there?
02:45It's crap, as always. What do you think?
02:49I tell you one thing. If you come here, always bring Kalashnikov.
02:55I learned this first time I come here. First week Berlin, I come here, one guy come to me,
03:03not smell good, ask me money. I say,
03:07NET! He ask again, I say, NET! He said, you give me money or I put needle with weights in
03:19you.
03:19I look, I run, to get Kalashnikov. But when I come back, he not there anymore. But I learned lesson.
03:33If you come here, don't forget to bring Kalashnikov. PANIMASH!
03:40Okay, thanks Ivan. Now, let's get to the juicy stuff, which is probably most important to you.
03:47Personal safety. Should you be afraid of murder, rape and muggings? The short answer is, not really.
03:55We'll have a look at the numbers for all of them, but let's start with murder.
03:58In 2020, the lives of 40 people have been taken in Berlin. Is that a lot? I don't know.
04:05Los Angeles, for example, which is a similar sized city, had... 343...
04:13That's 900% higher than Berlin. Maybe I should cancel my trip to the US after all.
04:18You have to know that in Germany, it's pretty hard to get your hands on a gun.
04:22You can't just go in a shop and buy one. You have to go through months or sometimes even years
04:27of training.
04:28You have to take a psychological test to get one. So all the crazy people living here, they don't have
04:33guns.
04:33And in my humble opinion, that's a really nice thought to have.
04:37Dude, is that a communist?
04:39Jesus!
04:40Let's move on to rape. Not a nice topic to cover, but we should at least mention it here.
04:45In 2019, the city counted 871 rapes. That's about 23 per 100,000 people.
04:52That sounds like a lot, but if you have a look at London, for example, the number is 88 per
04:58100,000 people.
04:59That's four times as much. And having a look at Paris, the number is 70, which isn't much better.
05:06So, one can say that Berlin's numbers are pretty low in comparison.
05:10As a woman, you're three to four times safer in this city.
05:13Still, and it should go without saying, but I've seen it happening too many times not to say it.
05:19If you are in a foreign city, don't consume any substances a stranger gives you.
05:24One would think that's common sense, but common sense doesn't seem to be so common nowadays.
05:30Next, muggings.
05:32Muggings do happen, but they're not very common.
05:35I personally know no one who has ever been mugged here.
05:38If you look at the numbers, there are on average two and a half thousand muggings happening each year.
05:44I couldn't find a proper distribution which areas in Berlin are affected the most,
05:48but the one that shows up in the media the most is the area around Neulendorffplatz,
05:53which is a very popular nightlife hotspot.
05:56One thing to worry way more than about being mugged is being pickpocketed,
06:00especially if you look like a tourist, their favorite target.
06:04More than 14,000 cases have been reported last year,
06:08most of which are happening in the area around Alexanderplatz.
06:11But really, if you're anywhere in Berlin and it's very crowded,
06:15like the public transport for example, you better watch your valuables.
06:20Actually, more than half of all criminal offenses are related to theft.
06:24And since we're already at the valuables,
06:27there's another thing worth protecting we rarely think about,
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07:57Okay, let's move to the safety of your stuff.
08:00Should you leave your bike outside?
08:01Your car?
08:02What about the stuff in your flat?
08:04Well, you're not gonna like the numbers.
08:06Let's start with the bikes.
08:07Everybody has a bike.
08:08Everybody needs a bike.
08:10It's one of the quickest ways to get around the city.
08:12And that's why they are in high demand among thieves.
08:16Every year, over 30,000 bikes are stolen in Berlin.
08:20That's one bike every 17 minutes.
08:22And that are only the reported ones.
08:24I didn't even bother reporting my three stolen bikes.
08:27So imagine how high this number really is.
08:30I once watched a German TV show where they made an experiment with that.
08:34They took a bike and put it on Kottbussator, which we just saw.
08:38Put a very cheap lock on it and waited how long it would take for it to be stolen.
08:42Well, they didn't have to wait so long.
08:44After 45 minutes, it was gone.
08:47During the day, that was not at night.
08:49So if you get a bike, an expensive bike, don't leave it outside.
08:53And if you get a cheap bike, buy a proper lock.
08:56They will even steal the crappiest bike on the planet.
08:59A lock like this?
09:01Don't get it.
09:02It's useless.
09:03Might as well not lock your bike at all.
09:055 Euro?
09:06Waste of money.
09:07Something like this is what you need.
09:11Cost a few Euro more, but you will have a bike.
09:14But enough of bikes.
09:15What about your car?
09:16That thing must be safer than your bike.
09:19Right?
09:20Right?
09:21Well, I'm sorry to tell you, but it really isn't.
09:24In 2020, there were 4,399 cars stolen in Berlin.
09:29That's an average of 94 cars per day.
09:32That's a ridiculous number.
09:34No wonder you see those huge car locks more and more.
09:37And then there's an additional 13,000 cases where parts of the car were stolen.
09:43Very popular is the catalyzer, which is made of expensive metals.
09:47And another 14,000 cases where stuff from inside the car was taken.
09:53Yep, don't leave your stuff in the car.
09:55But where are all those stolen cars ending up, you wonder?
09:59Well, the police is pretty active in tracking those cars.
10:02Many of the cars are being taken apart and shipped to other countries.
10:05So they made this map here to show where all of them are being taken.
10:09Most of them make their way through Poland to the east, but some even make it to Africa
10:14and even Cambodia.
10:16And if that wasn't enough, aside from car thefts, you also have to worry about your car
10:21being set on fire.
10:23Every single day, the firefighters have to head out to extinguish some burning cars here.
10:29In 2020, a total of 426 cars were burned on Berlin streets.
10:34This map right here shows which districts are affected the most.
10:38Cars really don't have a good time here in Berlin.
10:41Okay, time to move on to your favorite place, your apartment.
10:46Breaking into flats has been trending in Berlin for years.
10:49On an average year, over 10,000 break-ins are reported.
10:53The winter months are especially popular since the nights are much longer than it's summer.
10:58A large number of cases are committed by drug addicts who are looking for quick money for
11:02the next fix.
11:03But there have been spotted some burglar gangs who even camouflage themselves as moving
11:08companies.
11:09So take care of your stuff, guys!
11:10I actually have a few friends who got their stuff stolen while they were away on Easter holiday
11:15or Christmas holiday.
11:16So cliché.
11:17Just one advice before we move on.
11:20In Berlin, there are a lot of old buildings with very similar doors.
11:23If you have a door like this that falls out like that, you should be very careful.
11:29You can simply open this door with a hanger in 5 seconds.
11:34You can see that someone tried to break in here once using this method.
11:39So you're gonna tell your landlord to get these extra latches where you can simply do that.
11:47You know?
11:49This is what you need.
11:50Just this?
11:51Your apartment isn't safe at all.
11:54Alright, let's get to the serious stuff.
11:57Organized crime.
11:58This kind of criminal activity is huge in Berlin.
12:01But it's nothing the average person will encounter or even should worry about.
12:05Berlin's underworld is mostly controlled by 7 Arabian clans.
12:08They usually focus on drug trafficking, running brothels and white collar crime.
12:12But once in a while, they also do some pretty big heists and armed robberies.
12:17Just to give you a few examples.
12:19In 2013, they went to the KDW, Berlin's biggest department store, and robbed a jewelry store.
12:25In the middle of the day, they got away with accessories worth almost a million Euro.
12:30In 2017, they stole a 100 kilo gold coin from the Borde Museum worth almost 4 million Euro.
12:39The gold is still missing, by the way.
12:40And if you think that your stuff will be safe in a bank's safe deposit box, think again.
12:46Those places get taken out so often in Berlin that the media doesn't even bother reporting
12:51about it anymore.
12:52Every year, one or two of them get taken out.
12:54Sometimes they dig tunnels like in the movies.
12:57Sometimes they just march in during the day and take what they can.
13:00And other times, they just bombed the whole bank open.
13:03Unfortunately, most of the stolen stuff never turns up again.
13:06And the police actually has a very hard time fighting those guys.
13:09It's estimated that the clans have over 10,000 members alone in Berlin.
13:13That's like a little army.
13:14But the authorities are making some progress in fighting them.
13:17In 2018, the police confiscated 77 real estate objects from one of the clans.
13:23Which is probably just a drop on the hot stone, like we say in German.
13:27But still, it's better than nothing.
13:29There you have it.
13:31Berlin at its worst.
13:33To sum it up for you quickly.
13:35If you're a tourist, beware of pickpocketers.
13:38If you live here, try to secure your car and your flat as good as possible.
13:43Hope this video gave you a good overview over the state of affairs here.
13:47And now I'm curious.
13:48What is the worst thing you saw in Berlin that one could call a crime?
13:53Let me know in the comments.
13:54I'm not sure if I ever saw something serious happen in my six years living here.
13:58And even though some of the numbers seem pretty frightening, don't worry too much.
14:03If you have a little bit of common sense, you should be fine.
14:06Just don't go to Kodbosatora, yeah?
14:08I'll be back!
14:09I'll be back!
14:12I'll be back!
14:14Bye!
14:15Bye!

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