WIESBADEN, Germany -- U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Commander Col. Mary Martin, in partnership with host nation officials and security experts, hosted a community forum Feb. 22 at the Wiesbaden Middle School multipurpose room to address concerns and provide information about the housing of refugees in the city of Wiesbaden.
More than 200 residents of Aukamm, Crestview and Hainerberg housing, as well as others concerned about the ongoing refugee migration in the city attended the forum.
A panel of U.S. and city officials shared information and statistics and provided reassurance about safety concerns at the event.
Martin began the meeting by addressing the community's concerns, and highlighting the command's confidence in the city's efforts to keep the military community safe.
"We believe that our host nation provides the best, probably better than any other garrison throughout the region, when it comes to supporting our efforts, and what we do here in this community," Martin said. "Whenever we call, they are always there to support. They help us keep things safe. When the Paris incident happened, the first people we called on were our host nation partners, who then right away provided extra Polizei patrols to our communities, to our open housing areas ... to help our MPs.
"They're always there to assist, so they are great partners," she continued.
Wiesbaden Mayor Arno Gossmann, speaking through an interpreter, highlighted the long-standing friendship between the city and the American military community.
"I am very happy to be able to report that the Wiesbadeners who have been here for a while as well as more recently added Wiesbaden locals ... work very well together to tackle issues and also to have a good time together," he said.
"We work together when it comes to issues such as helicopter noise; we work together when it comes to fun, like the German-American Friendship Fest or the holiday concert," Gossmann continued. "We do these things together as friends, and being friends also means that you share information, that you discuss issues, whether these issues concern local German or Wiesbaden residents, or more recently issues concerning migrants or people looking for refuge in our city."
The mayor acknowledged people's concern and reminded community members that we all must support each other to maintain communication throughout this process.
"We have seen a steep increase in people seeking refuge in Wiesbaden over the last year or so," Gossmann said. "We have developed a culture of welcoming people into our community. We are well aware that this is not just a task for the politicians, but requires the participation of the citizens, and we honor the people's right to ask questions and have those questions answered."
Lt. Col. Michael Zink, USAG Wiesbaden director of emergency services, said the city of Wiesbaden has historically been one of the safest cities in Germany and there have been no significant reports of increased crime in the city attributed to refugees. He also said the garrison and the host nation have communication and a superb relationship.
"I have never seen the unparalleled relationship we have here in the state of Hesse, in Wiesbaden, with the Polizei," he said. "We are talking constantly, and we work together for the safety and security of the community."
Deputy Chief for the Wiesbaden Polizei Thomas Fink underscored the excellent communication and cooperation between the Polizei and military police.
"I would like to continue the point that Lt. Col. Zink made, and that is the outstanding relationship we have with our counterparts here at the garrison with the military police. I have been observing that for the last 10 years, and it is a unique relationship," he said through an interpreter.
"We have regular meetings where we exchange information, where we discuss and assess the security situation, but we also have joint exercises where we prepare ourselves in unison cooperation for any potential threats that we may have to face," Fink said.
When the U.S. Army Europe headquarters was moved from Heidelberg to Wiesbaden, an assessment was done for the security situation, Fink said. And ever since, the security measures have been increased to a high level.
"There's a high level of protection on the ground for the entire community already," he said.
There was fear that crime rates would rise, he said, when a large number of people were seeking refuge in Germany last year. But now, 6 months later, we can say that there have been no significant incidents that have been tied to refugees in Wiesbaden. In fact, crime in public spaces has actually gone down in the city, according to cited crime statistics released recently by the police.
Despite living in a relatively low-crime city and having a strong and closely collaborative police and security presence, Zink reminded community members to continue to practice common sense safety measures, as always, such as locking doors, hiding valuables, not walking alone at night, not carrying large amounts of cash and knowing how to call police and reporting suspicious activity either over the phone or through the iReport app.
"Be aware of your surroundings at all times," he said. "Crime prevention is a community effort."
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