Weekly report from July 15 to 21, 2024

Summer has arrived in Offenbach and with it the opportunity to sit outside more often, to celebrate, to visit the outdoor areas of restaurants and to use the garden at home or the allotment garden. This can also lead to noise that disturbs other people. In a total of 48 cases this week, the city police mediated, calmed down and ensured peace and quiet. In most cases, the city police officers were met with a great deal of understanding and were able to restore calm. Nevertheless, some disturbances caused a lack of understanding. Mowing the lawn on a Sunday at around 1.30 p.m. does not go down well with all neighbors.

During this working week, the technical traffic service and the traffic police measured speeds at a total of 24 measuring points and initiated proceedings for exceeding the speed limit in 295 cases.

In each case, 859 vehicles or their owners received a warning for parking or other traffic violations.

The Offenbach registration office registered 45 new vehicles for de-stamping. In addition, there were 51 cases of significant traffic obstructions, blocked driveways and parking spaces for the severely disabled, construction sites or temporary stopping bans, for example for construction work or removals. This led to 24 cases being towed away.

Another regular task of the city police is escorting heavy goods vehicles in the city. Due to their excessive length, width or weight, they are only allowed to travel on certain routes and paths, which are carefully checked and defined in advance in a complex approval process. The transports are escorted in the city area to ensure that they arrive safely at their destination despite obstructing oncoming traffic. Due to the traffic situation, these transports usually take place at night or in the early hours of the morning.

Employees of the city police were very surprised this week when they checked an e-bike that was noticed to be traveling at a considerable speed. The vehicle later reached a speed of 55.1 km/h in the calibrated test. The driver now has to answer for violating the compulsory insurance law and driving without a license. He will no longer be able to carry out his delivery work for a fast-food restaurant at his usual speed in future, as the vehicle was seized.

This week, the municipal police checked a total of twelve helpless people who were reported by members of the public. Most of the cases involved drunk people who were not in acute need of treatment. The emergency services called in took three people to hospital. Two other people were taken to a psychiatric clinic where they received initial treatment. The doctors are now investigating whether there is a continuing danger to themselves or others.

As already started last week, the city police have been keeping a close eye on the proper use of the city's children's playgrounds. The municipal police investigate every complaint received. There were also checks without a specific reason. In most cases, only the children for whom the facilities were built were found in the playgrounds. In some places, especially after 10 p.m., the municipal police encountered young people chilling out, drinking alcohol or smoking together. In all situations, the young people were asked to remove their garbage and leave the area. Checks are constantly being carried out to ensure residents' peace and quiet at night.

Some orders recur on a weekly basis with varying intensity. For example, the municipal police are repeatedly called upon to assist businesses, supermarkets or authorities to support the owners in enforcing their domestic authority. In plain language, this means that the patrols act as "bouncers", so to speak, for people who refuse to leave the premises. Usually, a clear speech is enough to get people to leave. The patrols also follow up on reports of aggressive beggars, who usually leave the area as soon as uniformed patrols are spotted. In most cases, the mere presence of the city police is sufficient.

Checks on restaurants are also part of the daily routine of the municipal police. Together with the field service of the commercial department of the public order office, regular and ad hoc checks are carried out on catering establishments. Special attention continues to be paid to the control of gambling machines, some of which are not licensed or have been tampered with.

The core tasks of the city police also include averting danger. The reports are varied and sometimes very challenging for the employees of the municipal police. A concerned citizen reported a construction crane and feared that the boom, which was turning freely in the wind, could cause the crane to topple over. The employees informed the man that this was a completely normal procedure, known in technical jargon as "after-work positioning" or "wind release". The arm of the crane is always released so that it can rotate freely in the wind and thus offer as little resistance as possible.

The situation became more dangerous when falling insulation boards and bricks were reported on an apartment building. A specialist company had already secured the materials, so there was no longer any danger when the municipal police arrived.

A supposed rioter who was allegedly threatening passers-by with a knife also turned out to be just a confused person who was handling a plastic object without intending to hurt anyone.

A report from an elderly lady who said that she was being locked up and held by her daughter also turned out to be a disagreement between the lady with dementia and her carer.

The youngsters, who were on the roof of a gymnasium, quickly fled when the first patrol arrived on the scene to investigate the report.

In contrast, a naked man on the balcony greeted the patrol with joy and wanted to tell his life story and medical history. He was eventually persuaded to live out his nudity in his own apartment and to at least wear swimming trunks on his balcony, which was in full view.

What was really worrying, however, was the report from passers-by who had spotted a sleeping toddler in a half-open van. The patrol was able to confirm the report and attempted to identify the supervisors. Despite announcements on the outside loudspeakers of the patrol car and the questioning of passers-by, it took 20 minutes before the parents were able to reunite with their child. The parents' shopping trip will now result in criminal proceedings for breach of duty of supervision and a report to the youth welfare office.

The tenant of a small apartment was quite astonished when she came home to find that her key no longer fitted into the door lock. The landlord had changed the lock on his own authority and unexpectedly terminated the tenant's tenancy. After a dispute about the validity of a verbal rental agreement in Germany, the landlord relented in the presence of the police and the lady can now continue to use her fully furnished apartment.

A large number of events and gatherings were also monitored by the municipal police in the third week of July. There were no particular disturbances.

The city police spent many hours on foot patrol in the pedestrian zone, focusing on the harbor area, Komm Center Offenbach and the surrounding schools. Once again, a number of complaints were received.

The cooperation patrol of the city and state police, which is on the road together for six hours a day in the city area, has been well received and is highly visible. A lot of presence is shown here in the form of foot patrols, but joint checks of restaurants, paths and squares are also part of the program.

As usual, the city police took in many items, especially cell phones, payment cards and wallets, during the closing times of the lost and found office this week. If lost, please contact fundbuerooffenbachde.