While the federal police officers Max and Vivian continue their tour through Leipzig Central Station without any particular incident, things get loud in the basement.

“Asshole!” shouts a bald security guard and grabs the arm of a drunk man who is sitting on a stool in front of the Rewe market. “You’re banned from here!” he shouts at him. The unwanted man defends himself briefly, then the black-clad guard drags him to the escalator and takes him out of the station.

Leipzig train station: More than two violent crimes every day

This is not an isolated case, as Stephan John, Head of DB Security Southeast, reports: “From 2024 to 2025, we had an increase in trespassing incidents of almost 30 percent.” This is due, among other things, to the fact that “more security forces were on duty and as a result more crimes were discovered.” On the other hand, explains Leipzig train station manager Christian Schulz, the increasing violence is also a reflection of the current “social tensions”.

He knows people who cause trouble Security man at the entrance to the Media Markt enough. The tall, broad-shouldered Tunisian reports a number of thefts. If he catches someone, he tries to “solve the matter without contact.” He and his busy colleagues in other stores don’t always manage to do this. Almost 900 violent crimes at Leipzig Central Station last year alone mean that on average there are more than two serious crimes every day.

Just a few weeks ago, an intensive care offender was arrested. The 32-year-old Bulgarian had been noticed for a number of crimes in and around Leipzig Central Station since December 2025. Dangerous bodily harm, threats, damage to property, trespassing – the brutal man hardly missed an act of violence.

He repeatedly attacked other people, mostly women, insidiously, spitting on them and injuring them. Most recently, he threw a glass bottle at a 37-year-old German woman’s head and suddenly hit a 17-year-old German man in the back of the head with a stone. Federal police arrested the highly aggressive perpetrator. He was taken into custody.

“Around 40 percent of violent perpetrators are non-Germans”

The Bulgarian is by no means the only foreign lawbreaker at Leipzig Central Station. “Around 40 percent of violent criminals are non-Germans,” reports Markus Pfau, head of the Leipzig Federal Police Inspectorate, in an interview with FOCUS online. At the top are criminals from Poland and Ukraine, followed by immigrants from Syria.

There are a lot of EU citizens in the homeless scene in particular, explains Pfau. Poles, Romanians, people from the Baltics. “People who, like the German alcoholic, are stranded here at the train station and are committing crimes.”

In addition, according to the senior police director, in Leipzig we are observing “migrant groups that are active in the drug environment and attract attention in the train station through procurement-related crime.” This includes North African cliques, Arabs, Syrians, Afghans and people of other nationalities. However, this is not a problem specific to Leipzig, but rather “a nationwide phenomenon,” says Pfau.

Video cameras capture 20-year-old knife stabber from Syria

Max and Vivian return from their patrol to the federal police station in Leipzig Central Station and briefly stop by the situation center. Here two colleagues are sitting in front of a flickering wall. Four real-time videos from surveillance cameras appear on several monitors. The cross platform can be seen, the west and east halls, the central stop and many other places. 130 high-resolution cameras keep a close eye on the main station.

The large-scale observation enables the police to recognize dangerous developments at an early stage and to identify criminals – such as the 20-year-old knife stabber from Syria. In January 2025, the immigrant suddenly rammed a knife into the right shoulder blade of a 17-year-old Libyan from behind in front of the east hall of the train station and fled. The investigators were able to convict the perpetrator using video recordings.

In order to search more effectively, video surveillance at Leipzig Central Station is to be expanded. The last “blind spots” that have not yet been captured by cameras will then disappear. In addition, “the presence of security forces should be increased and the pressure of control should be further increased,” said federal police officer Markus Pfau to FOCUS online. “We want to be visible as the police, we want to monitor intensively and aggressively.”

Those responsible are also breaking new ground. Ways that seem unusual in the rigid German system of official responsibilities and strictly delimited areas of competence: In the future, so-called Quattro stripes will be on the move in and around Leipzig Central Station.

Responsibilities dissolved: four authorities on patrol together

In concrete terms, this means that officers from the federal police, the Saxon state police as well as employees from the city public order service and DB Security go on patrol together. Four different authorities work closely together and break down the areas of responsibility that exist on paper.

The current problem is that federal police and DB Security forces are only responsible for what happens under the roof of the train station. If crime, such as drug dealing, moves outwards to the station area, they are powerless because their powers end. That should be different now. Stephan John from DB Security on the advantage of Quattro stripes: “Someone is always responsible.”

Station manager Christian Schulz has high hopes for the new strategy. “Our train stations are our calling card,” he says. “We want passengers and travelers to feel comfortable and safe in Leipzig Central Station and its surroundings.” Schulz promises: “We want to get noticeably better. We will work massively on safety and cleanliness.”

How comfortable or uncomfortable train passengers feel in Leipzig remains a closely guarded secret by Deutsche Bahn. The company carries out customer satisfaction surveys at train stations four times a year, including on the issues of “safety” and “cleanliness”. But even after repeated requests from FOCUS online, the railway did not want to release any results for Leipzig.

“We ask for your understanding that we do not publish individual figures,” said a spokeswoman. Just this much: “The development of values ​​for Leipzig Central Station is satisfactory.”

Are you afraid of working in the train station? “Why should I?”

Two railway security employees who are doing their last lap for the day in the basement are satisfied with their service. “It was a quiet day,” says a colleague. They only had to intervene twice. “Someone rode through here on a bicycle. And someone wanted to light a cigarette. That’s forbidden here in the house.” The much-discussed violent crime – fortunately, at least on this day, it didn’t happen.

A saleswoman who works at Leipzig Central Station can’t understand all the excitement anyway. When the reporter asked her if she was sometimes afraid, she looked over the counter in surprise. “Why should I?” She thinks it’s nonsense that Leipzig is supposed to be Germany’s most dangerous train station. “That can’t be right!” Sure, things get stolen from Aldi every now and then, she says. “But otherwise?” Other employees at the shopping mall are also calm.

Crime is not a topic of conversation in the beer bar

The most relaxed place is on the upper floor, in the beer bar “Gleis 8”. The innkeeper serves Hasseröder, a small glass for 4.40 euros. Shortly before the bar closes, there are still nine guests there, eight men, one woman. Some smoke cigarettes, filling the room with blue-gray clouds.

Crime is not a topic of conversation here. It’s about football, gas prices, work, the weather. “Another beer?” asks the boss. “No, thank you. Pay, please!” The reporter has to go quickly. A siren sounds. Blue lights are circling outside.