Tilst residents demand safety hub as mayor promises action

Residents of Tilst, a district of Aarhus, are calling for safety guards and police officers to tackle rising insecurity after a fatal traffic incident, a stabbing and reported open drug dealing this summer, DR reports. Mayor Anders Winnerskjold says he will discuss the situation with police and examine whether increased video surveillance could help.

In June, a car carrying young people and being pursued by police crashed into a house near Bilka, killing a resident. In July, an 18-year-old was charged with attempted murder after a stabbing in Langkærparken.

Tino Dainese, who has lived in Tilst with his family for 30 years, has proposed creating a local safety hub at Tilst Library, staffed by municipal safety guards and officers from East Jutland Police.

Dainese runs through the district three times a week with a local running club. During his runs, he says he has repeatedly seen children and young people apparently receiving drugs from suspicious cars.

He also says he witnessed pills being sold from a car parked near a shop where he was collecting a parcel.

“There were three young people sitting in the car and one person fumbling with some pills. At first I said that they should not do that here, but then he said to me: ‘I can also get you completely high, grandad,’” Dainese told DR.

Winnerskjold has not rejected the proposal, but questioned whether municipal safety guards would be effective against drug dealing because they have few powers.

“All ideas are welcome, but I am unsure whether municipal safety guards are the solution, especially when the problems involve drug dealing,” he said.

Tilst has grown by more than 30 percent over the past decade and now has more than 11,000 residents. Winnerskjold said the district’s development had led to an overly high concentration of social problems.

The municipality installed surveillance cameras in the spring in the car park outside the local sports association after young people caused concern there. The mayor says he will ask municipal officials to investigate how safety measures in Tilst can be strengthened.

Dainese believes residents need to be able to meet safety guards and police officers at the library every day. He estimates that 12 full-time employees would be needed to cover afternoons, evenings and weekends.

He is concerned that Tilst could enter a vicious circle in which it becomes difficult to retain families with strong resources. Some of his neighbours have already moved away, and he and his wife have discussed whether to stay and fight for the district or find somewhere else to live.