The measure to have private security firms patrol the station district to combat criminality has come with sharp criticism. Police minister Henri Cox objected, saying police alone could ensure law and order.
Yet many residents of this area will certainly welcome security guards. Dan Neuhengen has been living in an apartment for 10 years, and for a long time he enjoyed staying there. In the last two years, however, the district's situation deteriorated significantly.
The drug problems spread through the neighbourhood. For Neuhengen this was the final straw, and documented the problems in his street with a mobile phone camera before putting them online.
In addition to his complaints on social networks, the man also wrote letters to City Mayor Lydie Polfer.
Neuhengen welcomes the new patrols at the station, but he believes this measure is not effective in the long term. Drug crime is also a social problem; politicians now really need to work on new solutions. First and foremost, people should be prevented from slipping into drugs and crime in the first place.
