Police called to 391 operations in Berlin's outdoor pools

During the summer season at Berlin's outdoor pools, the police were called to 391 operations. The reason for the vast majority of these operations was theft in an outdoor swimming pool, in front of it or in the immediate vicinity, as the police said in response to an inquiry.

The crimes in the period from May 1st to August 23rd also included bodily harm (39 cases), trespassing (21 cases), fraud (20 cases) and insults (12 cases). There were also cases of traffic offenses in front of the pools, damage to property, disputes, drugs, harassment and noise.

20 bathrooms were listed. The most police operations (52) took place in Kreuzberg's Prinzenbad, where the most visitors are counted every year. This was followed by the Sommerbad am Insulaner and the Columbiad in Neukölln, both with 35 police operations. Then came the outdoor swimming pool in Pankow (32) and the Wannsee lido (29).

High security costs

With these numbers, it should be noted that the pools received around 1.4 million visitors last year, and in 2024 there were even around 1.9 million. And this year the number is also in the millions.

Because in previous years there were often fights and riots between teenagers and young adults on hot weekends, the pools sometimes paid around two million euros per season for private security guards alone. In addition, ID checks were introduced at the entrances, fences were raised, video cameras were set up and free sports facilities were set up.