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CRIME

Sexual assaults reported at Berlin street festival

Two women were sexually assaulted and mugged by a group of around ten men during Berlin's Carnival of Cultures, an annual street parade celebrating the diversity of the German capital.

Sexual assaults reported at Berlin street festival
File photo of the carnival parade. Photo: Soeren Stache/DPA

The pair, aged 17 and 18, were dancing on a stage in Kreuzberg on Sunday afternoon, when they were surrounded by the group of around ten men who harrassed them and touched them, according to a police report. The women tried to get away but were unable to, and the younger girl's mobile phone was stolen.

A witness, who had seen the girls looking frightened and noticed that one of them was holding the girl in a “strange” way, filmed the men – one of whom reacted aggressively when he noticed.

Police were able to intervene and detained three of the attackers, one 14-year-old and two 17-year-olds, confirming later on Twitter that they were already known to police. After taking their details, the men were released.

“The three suspects recognized are known to the police. Two are of Turkish descent, the background of the third is unclear.”

Investigations are continuing and anyone who was a victim of or witness to further assaults should contact Berlin police or make a complaint using the Internetwache online interface.

The carnival passed without any other serious incident, although police also reported two instances of 'hug scammers', in Charlottenburg and the central Friedrichstraße, perhaps taking advantage of the high spirits of the carnival.

In both cases, two men were involved; one asked for a high-five or to borrow a cigarette lighter from the passer-by, and then both grabbed the victim's arm and stole their watch. Plainclothes officers apprehended the perpetrators on both occasions.

Police were likely particularly vigilant during the weekend street festival, following the mass sexual assaults which took place during Cologne's New Year's street celebrations. The ugly scenes cast a harsh spotlight on the city's police who initially failed to prevent the violence and then tried to play down the extent of the chaos for several days. Germany has tightened its legal definition of rape following the attacks and the first three suspects have gone on trial, with one Algerian man cleared of sexual assault charges.


 

BERLIN

Anmeldung: Berlin to re-launch online housing registration in October

Finding an appointment at the Bürgeramt to register an address has long been an unwanted chore for new arrivals in Berlin - but from October, this gruelling ritual will be a thing of the past.

Anmeldung: Berlin to re-launch online housing registration in October

Every foreigner who’s lived in the German capital has experienced the stress of trying to find an appointment at the Bürgeramt, or citizens’ office. 

In order to register an address – a process known as the Anmeldung in German – residents generally have to scour a list of available appointments, sometimes waiting weeks for a spot or travelling to a far-flung part of the city to complete the process. 

From mid-October, however, the city has announced that people will be able to register and deregister their place of residence online. The Local has contacted officials to ask for the specific date in October that this is happening and will update this story when we receive the information. 

According to the Senate, the move will free up around 500,000 appointments that would ordinarily have been taken by the hundreds of thousands who move into and around the city each year.

Berlin had briefly offered online registrations during the Covid-19 pandemic, but removed the service once social restrictions were lifted. 

How will the new system work?

The online registration system is apparently based on Hamburg’s system, which was developed under the so-called ‘one-for-all’ (EfA) principle. This means that other states around Germany can adopt the same software as part of their digitalisation efforts.

People who want to register address will need to fill in an online form, provide proof of their new residence and also identify themselves using their electronic ID, which will either be an electronic residence permit or a German or EU ID card. 

READ ALSO: What is Germany’s electronic ID card and how do you use it?

After the process has been completed, a sticker for the ID card will be sent out via post.

Aufenthaltstitel

A German residence permit or ‘Aufenthaltstitel’ with an electronic ID function. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Daniel Karmann

This can then be used to update the information on a residents’ eID card and access the registration confirmation digitally.

Those who don’t have access to a validated electronic ID will need to either activate their eID function at the immigration office or Bürgeramt or register their address in person.  

In 2024, the service will only be available for single residents, but online registration for families is also in the pipeline.

Is Berlin making progress with digitalisation?

It certainly seems like it. This latest move is part of a larger push to complete digitalise Berlin’s creaking services and move to a faster, more efficient online system.

At the start of the year, the capital centralised its naturalisation office in the Landesamt für Einwanderung (LEA) and moved all citizenship applications online. 

Since then, citizenship applications have been completed around ten times faster than previously – though tens of thousands of applicants are still waiting for a response on their paper applications.

More recently, the LEA also announced that it had moved to a new appointment-booking system designed to end the predatory practice of appointment touting, or selling appointments for a fee.

Under the new system, many residents permits – including EU Blue Cards – can be directly applied for online, with in-person appointments reserved for collecting the new (or renewed) permit.

READ ALSO: What to know about the new appointments system at Berlin immigration office

Meanwhile, those who can’t apply online yet can access appointments by filling in the contact form, with the LEA hoping that this will deter people from booking appointments with the intention to sell them on. 

In another move to speed up bureaucracy, Berlin also opened a new Bürgeramt in the district of Spandau this September, with the governing CDU announcing on X that more new offices would follow in the near future. 

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