The riding school fights against harassment, violence and drugs

The Berner Reitschule, the alternative cultural center at Bern train station, has a violence problem. And right in front of your own door. That’s why those responsible are closing the cultural center until January 21st.

“Violent structures” have established themselves on the Schützenmatte and the forecourt, the riding school writes in a post on the Instagram platform. This can be seen specifically in drug deals, gang wars, a lack of prospects and psychological and social misery. The article continues: “We are not prepared to allow further escalations of violence or to endanger the safety of ourselves and our visitors.”

The riding school does not name the perpetrator in its communiqué. However, she writes that the situation is the result of a repressive asylum policy, a failed drug policy and the systematic dismantling of social infrastructure.

The riding school has been making headlines at regular intervals for years. Citizens criticize that the riding school is a legal vacuum. Left-wing radicals have already organized targeted attacks on police officers from there. Last May they threw stones, bottles and fireworks at police, injuring 11 officers. At the same time, it has been a magnet for drug-related crime for years.

For many young people, marginalized people and asylum seekers, the riding school with its forecourt, concert halls, bars and cinema is, above all, a cultural center with affordable offerings; a place to get involved and live out your life. It is considered a free space in a thoroughly regulated city. And as such a free space, the riding hall has been trying for years to evade the grasp of state power and to regulate itself.

But what if people outside the left-wing scene do not adhere to the principles of the riding school and abuse the freedom?

The police want cooperation

Manuel Willi, head of the Bern regional police, says: “In the last few months, the situation on the forecourt has been tense because a large number of people, most of whom come from the Maghreb, are dealing drugs there, consuming them themselves and committing violent crimes .» Willi explains that the number of incidents is always subject to certain fluctuations, but the forecourt is one of the hot spots in the city.

Currently, says Willi, there are an average of five violent incidents per month. This refers to stabbings, robberies and fights. Willi says there are probably unreported cases because not all cases are reported to the police. There are no more precise figures about crime because the statistics do not record incidents on the forecourt separately.

The work of the police on the forecourt is associated with certain difficulties. The riding school does not want the police here. Police Chief Willi says that they are looking for cooperation, but that the riding school is currently refusing to do so. However, this cooperation could help to improve safety in and around the riding school, because, as the riding school itself writes, there is a safety problem.

However, it is unlikely that an agreement will be reached between the riding school and the police. Last year, the church’s street work, which works closely with various groups at the riding school, wrote a letter to the Bern city government. In it she described the situation and the problems on the forecourt. She also made allegations against the police.

The letter stated that the police regularly carry out identity checks on people from the Maghreb, but after a few hours or days the detainees are back at the location and their situation has not changed. These people also increasingly returned from checks with broken bones and bruises and reported massive racist insults from the police. The letter was co-written and co-signed by the riding school.

The cantonal police deny these allegations. Police chief Willi says they have clear guidelines for identity checks and are sticking to them. If there is misconduct by the police, these allegations will be taken seriously and investigated. But Willi is currently not aware of any complaints against the actions of police officers on the forecourt.

The problem on the forecourt has existed for a long time. Willi says the police are trying to fight crime according to political guidelines. But he also knows that this problem cannot be solved with police operations alone.

The local council is worried

Marieke Kruit, the newly elected Social Democratic mayor of Bern, outlined a dilemma upon request. Kruit confirms the police’s account and speaks of a scene of predominantly foreign people who are active in the drug trade in front of the riding school and who are sometimes armed and prepared to use violence. When asked, she writes: “It is clear that this scene can no longer be dealt with with the existing social, integrative, non-repressive interventions.” At the same time, repressive interventions in the asylum system often came to nothing.

In recent years, the city has adopted various measures on the forecourt. A private security service has been monitoring the situation since 2022. In addition, a coordination office was set up and a “protection mobile” was opened. This is an old caravan that is intended to serve as a place of refuge on weekends for people who are sexually harassed or violently attacked or who feel harassed by others. According to the city, the protective mobile is looked after by a professional team.

Mayor Kruit sees the cause of the current situation largely in problems affecting society as a whole. The city alone cannot solve this. Nevertheless, says Kruit, it is clear that the current situation requires additional measures and interventions from the local council. These will be discussed and supported with the actors involved. And further: “The riding school also has a responsibility here.”

For the left-wing city of Bern, this is an unusually clear distancing.