The city of Differdange doesn’t want to go back to using private security agents (pictured here in Luxembourg City last year) to help maintain public order Library photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne

The city of Differdange doesn’t want to go back to using private security agents (pictured here in Luxembourg City last year) to help maintain public order Library photo: Matic Zorman / Maison Moderne

Differdange is pondering spending €200,000 on security cameras around a city-centre park but using a private security firm to patrol the area is “out of the question,” says mayor Christiane Brassel-Rausch.

At the end of January, a team of police officers was surrounded by a group of 10 to 15 people who had been using drugs outside a bar in rue Michel Rodange. A scuffle broke out and reinforcements had to be called in, prompting a discussion about safety at the city’s Parc Gerlache and the surrounding area.

“A year, maybe a year and a half ago we had a meeting with Mr Kox to raise awareness for this issue,” Brassel-Rausch (Déi Gréng) told Delano. Henri Kox (Déi Gréng) is Luxembourg’s interior security minister and oversees the police force. Differdange was assigned four additional officers.

“There aren’t only dealers,” Brassel-Rausch said about the area, adding that there are many young people at the park who shouldn’t be criminalised. “As a commune, we have to ask ourselves whether we have done enough,” the mayor said. “Why are these young people there? Why aren’t they working or at school?”

The mayor envisions offering young people a space at the commune that they can help design and manage. The city also wants to work with street social workers. “It’s an unfortunate mix,” Brassel-Rausch said about youths and drug dealers mixing at the park, which during the day is also frequented by families with children and elderly residents.

Back in 2019, Differdange had hired a private security company to help ensure public order at Gerlache park. The contract expired at the end of last year and wasn’t renewed. It had been cited by Luxembourg City mayor Lydie Polfer when authorities in the capital decided to seek support from private firms to maintain public order around the Gare district.

“That is out of the question,” Brassel-Rausch said asked about returning to this option. Her party, the Greens, had firmly opposed the use of private firms in Luxembourg City, which has . The Differdange mayor said a for the police by Kox aimed at making up for mistakes made by the CSV-LSAP government that was in office until 2013. But it will take time for new recruits to be trained up and available, she said.

Citizens in Esch-sur-Alzette meanwhile are also calling for more police presence around the city’s train station. A says residents, students but also bus and taxi drivers are exposed to escalating violence in the area. If the document reaches more than 4,500 signatures, it will be debated in parliament and could pile more pressure on Kox.

The Differdange council on 2 March will discuss several measures, such as spending €200,000 on CCTV cameras and requesting a mobile police unit for the area. The bar where the altercation with police took place, Café Eclat Sportiv, is frequently the site of disturbances and was closed down. A brewery has made an offer to invest in the business, which will also be reviewed by the town council.