Kleinbasel residents demand action over drug-related disorder

Residents of Basel’s Kleinbasel district say drug dealing and public drug use are making them feel unsafe, and are calling for more action from authorities, SRF reports. At a recent public meeting, however, participants disagreed on what measures would help.

Residents of lower Kleinbasel described people injecting drugs on pavements during the day, disturbances at night and litter in the streets. One resident said the number of dealers visibly selling drugs on the street had tripled. Some said the situation recalled the open drug scene of the 1980s.

Authorities have increased their presence near Dreirosenmatte and Matthäuskirche, a church, following several incidents and complaints. One resident said people had been able to sleep at night again this summer, but added that the problem had shifted to Claraplatz, a square that is now a hotspot. A woman said she had seen dealers and customers preparing and injecting drugs in the entrance to her building.

Basel government president Conradin Cramer attended the Kleinbasel drug roundtable for the first time in his nine years in office. He said police and social workers had spent more time in the area this summer, and that new drugs were making some users more aggressive. He said authorities could reduce the worst effects and protect quality of life, but there was no simple solution to drug use and its consequences.

Cramer said a stricter police law could make it easier to order dealers to leave. SP parliamentarian Mahir Kabakci has proposed a different approach: a security, intervention and prevention service, modelled on services in Zurich, Lucerne and Biel. The team would work in the neighbourhood and be available to everyone to help defuse conflicts. Parliament referred his proposal to the government for a response in September.

Kabakci defended Kleinbasel against what he called an overly bleak portrayal, saying its problems should be addressed without hatred or incitement. FDP parliamentarian Daniel Seiler defended his party’s petition calling for government action, saying he no longer felt comfortable walking from Claraplatz towards Kaserne after dark.

The meeting, organised by online outlet Bajour and the Kleinbasel district secretariat, lasted about an hour and a half. Former Basel drug delegate Thomas Kessler urged authorities to tackle organised crime, describing that effort as central.