Berlin’s Hospitals Face Rise in Violent Incidents and Disorderly Behavior
According to data from the Berlin Police, officers responded to over 14,000 calls at the city’s approximately 60 hospitals in the past year, a significant increase from the 12,300 calls in the previous year. The majority of these incidents involved violence, vandalism and disorderly behavior, with a total of over 640 reported physical assaults, nearly 290 cases of domestic disturbance and almost 260 incidents of coercion, false imprisonment, or intimidation.
The data, reported by the Tagesspiegel, highlights the growing concerns about safety and security in Berlin’s hospitals. The list of registered incidents does not include the Vivantes-Klinik in Neukölln, a major hospital that regularly requires police intervention, often involving special forces. The actual number of incidents may be higher, as a result.
The top five most affected hospitals in 2024 were the Charité-Virchow-Campus in Wedding, the Vivantes-Klinikum in Friedrichshain, the Evangelisches Krankenhaus Herzberge in Lichtenberg, the Vivantes-Auguste-Viktoria-Klinikum in Schöneberg and the Vivantes-Urban-Klinikum in Kreuzberg. These hospitals, which treat a large number of patients and have large emergency departments, include the Charité-Virchow-Rettungsstelle, which serves around 90,000 cases a year and the Vivantes-Kliniken, which also handle a large number of emergency cases. The Herzberge-Krankenhaus in Lichtenberg is known for its large psychiatric department.