Zug,15.11.2017

Most political parties call for more policing of city's "crime hotspot"

The city already has permission for the installation of 23 cameras to monitor the area between the station and the Bossard Arena, though most political parties would prefer to see more police patrols.
 
The reason behind the focus on this area is because 750 acts of crime have been committed there since 2014.
 
Speaking on behalf of the Alternate Green Party, of which he is the chairman, Andreas Lustenberger was not convinced that the cameras would help prevent crime. “The city of Zug is a very safe place,” he said. “I have never heard anything about this area between the station and the Bossard Arena being unsafe.” Instead he would prefer more police patrols in the area, as he expressed his criticism, too, of the government’s decision to close three sub police stations in the canton.
 
For her part, Barbara Gysel, the chairwoman of the SP party, said she thought extensive or blanket monitoring of the area was just not on. “Research has shown that the use of video cameras is no real solution. They just mean criminals go elsewhere. Anyway, lots of crime still takes place in areas where video cameras are in operation. What is more, such monitoring is an invasion of personal freedom. Our policy on this is for more police to patrol the area, or more people employed to look out for what young people get up to on the streets. Perhaps having more employees on public transport to whom one could report might be a solution, too,” she suggested.
 
As for the SVP party, spokesman Markus Hürlimann, who represents Baar in the cantonal parliament, said he wanted to see active security, by which he meant more policemen or security officers on patrol, rather than cameras. “The police need to spend less time in their headquarters,” he said. As to the government’s justification of the installation of all these cameras as result of the high numbers of crimes in the area, Hürlimann wanted to know why these did not seem to have been reported in the press.
 
In outlining the FDP party’s reaction, chairman Andreas Hofstetter said the use of cameras could be an efficient way of preventing crime. “And bearing in mind this area seems to be a crime hotspot, and the route used by away-team fans when attending matches against EVZ, then I think blanket coverage would be a good thing,” he said, as he went on to say that the deployment of more police would be too expensive.
 
Speaking on behalf of the CVP party, its chairman, Pirmin Frei, said that he had reservations about blanket coverage in the area mentioned and that it should all be kept in proportion.
 
Speaking in his capacity as core city councillor responsible for social, environmental and security matters, Urs Raschle said that if security could be improved by the installation of cameras, then it would be a good thing, as he added that he could not confirm the area in question was the hotspot for crime as had been alleged. Furthermore, he said the city might consider the installation of security cameras by the lake promenade, as this was particularly affected by litter in the summer months.