Since January 2023, Hamburg police have conducted 1,750 visits to asylum centers, with 815 of these interventions occurring from January to October 2024 alone. This sharp rise in police responses, revealed in a Senate report following an inquiry by the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has ignited a fierce political debate over asylum policy and public safety.
According to the report, the first 10 months of 2024 saw more interventions than the same period in 2023 (815 compared to 785). Emergency services have also been busy, with Hamburg’s fire and rescue teams responding to 2,505 calls at these facilities since early 2023. Physical assaults made up a large portion of these calls, with 172 cases recorded, along with 104 incidents of disputes, 75 fights, and 148 riot-related incidents. Other calls included 139 fire alarms, 134 cases of trespassing, 16 weapon threats, six robberies, and eight sexual offenses. There was also a “four-digit number” of cases involving resistance or assault on officers.
Dirk Nockemann, leader of the AfD’s state parliamentary group, responded sharply, calling these incidents “the bottom of the barrel” and pushing for immediate deportations of violent asylum seekers to ease the burden on law enforcement. The growing demands in asylum facilities have also affected youth shelters, where Hamburg’s sole crisis center is over capacity, currently housing 120 minors despite a limit of 102.
Challenges with high asylum numbers have led to political tension in Hamburg, where the Senate has been criticized for fast-tracking a 400-person asylum facility in Barmbek-Nord without public input. Citizens have voiced concerns that increased immigration is straining local resources and contributing to rising crime. Some Hamburg residents, like a pensioner in an affluent area, have shared frustrations with anti-social behavior linked to new asylum residents, describing disruptive behaviors like littering and noise issues.
Efforts to curb issues in the asylum system include payment cards to streamline benefits, but left-leaning advocacy groups recently exposed a loophole allowing asylum seekers to convert card credit into cash, further complicating enforcement efforts. Violent crime remains a concern across Hamburg, and despite measures to improve management, the increasing strain on services continues to fuel local unrest and political debate over asylum policy.
