Illegal gambling, electricity theft and many business inspections kept the city police busy in October

The cool fall weather is making itself felt: While the city police had to intervene in 21 and 30 disturbances of the peace in the first two weeks of October, there were between 7 and 18 in the remaining weeks.

In the first week of October, one disturbance turned out to be the excessive demands of a 16-year-old girl who had to look after her five younger siblings on her own. As the mother was drunk and barely responsive, the youth welfare office was informed.

The traffic police carried out speed checks at an average of 23 locations per week and initiated between 54 and 406 proceedings for exceeding the speed limit. There were a particularly high number of warnings for parking offences or other traffic violations in the third week of October with 2,644 violations. Between 28 and 58 vehicles per week were registered for unstamping at the Offenbach registration office.

At over 100, there were a particularly high number of reports of significant traffic obstructions in the second week of October. In the other weeks, citizens reported between 22 and 90, including blocked driveways, parking spaces for the disabled and temporary stopping restrictions. If the city police cannot reach the drivers, they have the vehicles towed away. Between 13 and 36 vehicles were towed away each week, with all others receiving an expensive warning.

Investigating drivers who do not pay their fines for speeding or running a red light is very time-consuming. In October, the city police investigated between 35 and 51 drivers per week.

During an inspection of trucks in the second week of October, one driver had no documents on him. A search revealed that the man did not have a residence permit and was wanted for deportation. He also did not have a driving license.

Due to the very changeable weather, considerably fewer reports of helpless persons were received. In October, there were between seven and 15, most of which were sick, demented or confused people who needed medical assistance.

The city police carried out several business inspections together with the public order office's commercial field service. They also followed up on indications of illegal gambling and seized illegal gambling machines. A room in a restaurant that had probably been used as a gambling venue was also sealed. In addition, a well-frequented but unlicensed restaurant had to be closed.

The city police found e-cigarettes with a capacity of more than 2 milliliters for sale in a commercial establishment. As this is not permitted under the Tobacco Products Act, they seized the devices and informed the relevant authorities.

In the first week of October, the municipal police intervened in a dispute between a landlord and tenant. The tenant had received an electricity back payment of 4,000 euros and wanted an electrician to check his electricity meter. The landlord wanted to forbid him from doing so and threatened both of them with a stick. The municipal police settled the dispute and the electrician finally confirmed that the landlord had tapped into the electricity. He received a criminal complaint.

The municipal police also intervened at the Sana Clinic. A patient wanted to leave the hospital against medical advice and stood in the entrance area with his pants down. After a lengthy conversation, the man agreed to undergo medical treatment.

The municipal police officers are trained in de-escalation. Nevertheless, it can happen that a person cannot be calmed down. Especially if they are drunk. In the first week of October, an argument escalated so that the city police had to take a man into custody to sober him up.

In the second week of October, the city police had to be called out five times to enforce domestic authority. One case involved a man shouting in the stairwell. The man said that the police had his apartment key. A consultation with the police station revealed that the man had a removal order due to domestic violence. As the man was drunk and refused to leave the building, the municipal police took him away to sober him up.

People are not always understanding when violations are pointed out to them. For example, a driver insulted and threatened a patrol while they were taking a report for parking in the pedestrian zone. He now also faces criminal charges. A cyclist at the weekly market pushed a city policeman after the latter pointed out to him that cycling is not permitted at the weekly market. He was also reported to the police.

An order to monitor a construction site company revealed several violations regarding environmental protection, traffic safety and road traffic regulations during asphalt work. For example, two trucks were overloaded by up to four tons at the time of asphalt delivery, diesel was sprayed as a release agent and the trucks had unauthorized vehicle attachments. The municipal police initiated several reports and informed the relevant authorities.

There were also several animal-related incidents in October. Two unleashed dogs got into a fight in Dreieichpark in the first week of October. When one of the dog owners tried to separate the animals, he was bitten several times. The city police also had to catch two unleashed dogs.

In the second week of October, there were several violations of Offenbach's street regulations such as pigeon feeding, unleashed dogs and grossly disruptive behavior. The violations were punished with a warning or fine.

In the last week of October, a citizen reported a dog tied up and left behind on the market square. This turned out to be a Turkish Kangal, which was in a poor condition. The municipal police therefore took him to a veterinary clinic. An investigation revealed that the listed dog had been stolen from its owner's garden plot. As the woman did not have a permit to keep dangerous dogs, she did not get the dog back.

On Halloween evening, a number of youth groups illegally set off fireworks in various locations and threw eggs at houses. In two cases, the patrols were able to apprehend one person in each case. The young people were handed over to their parents or guardians due to their age. In one case, a search of the area was unsuccessful.

The municipal police had to investigate the whereabouts of 37 to 43 people per week. This primarily involves checking on cohabiting couples and cases in which urgent official mail could not be delivered due to missing letterboxes or doorbells.