Germany: Deutsche Bahn staff to wear cameras due to assaults

Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national rail operator, announced Saturday that customer service staff will don body cameras as the number of violent incidents perpetrated against employees rises.

A test run of the technology began in February in the southwestern Black Forest area of the country. That pilot program will now be extended to other regions of Germany.

Hans-Hilmar Rischke, head of DB Group Security, said: "Any form of violence against our employees is unacceptable, and we deeply condemn it."

What additional safety measures are planned?

Violence against staff has increased annually since 2012, except for a modest decrease in 2019. Additional measures to protect staff are planned, including further training for employees who face the public.

Deutsche Bahn plans to expand surveillance cameras at train stations. About 9,000 cameras are currently in operation at rail stations. Authorities plan to install about 2,000 more cameras by next year.

There are about 50,000 cameras installed on roughly 75% of local and suburban trains.

How serious is the problem?

Deutsche Bahn recorded 3,138 assaults against railway employees last year, roughly 21% more than in 2021, when far fewer people commuted by rail because of the pandemic.

Thirty percent of the cases Deutsche Bahn classified as assaults in 2021 were attributed to employees' efforts to enforce mandatory mask requirements. Those measures were lifted in February of this year after nearly three years.

Half of the attacks affected staff aboard DB local trains; more than one-third involved the company's security employees. That said, serious bodily injury was still "the exception," applying to 6% of the recorded attacks.

The number of soccer fans riding the rails again to games both home and away, too, has contributed to a surge in assaults, according to Deutsche Bahn. 

Why do authorities say assaults have increased?

Passenger numbers on German railways rose significantly in 2022 with the lifting of certain measures and the introduction of a cheap €9 ticket promotion on all but the high-speed intercity express rail lines in the summer months.

Seven percent of the assaults were attributed to overcrowding brought on by the sharply discounted ticket.

According to company data, Deutsche Bahn spends €180 million ($192 million) annually on security. On Germany's rail network, 4,300 security personnel keep watch and are supported by 5,500 federal police officers.

ar/msh (AFP, dpa)