Hamburg records deaths of homeless people only when they occur in public spaces, under a newly revised set of statistics. The Social Affairs Department cites a consistently documented data basis provided by Polizei and public order services, as well as the value of identifying hazardous locations and coordinating measures. Norddeutscher Rundfunk reported on the change in practice, described in a departmental account of how deaths in public spaces are recorded.
Criticism has come from social welfare organisations, street magazines and opposition politicians. They argue that the focus captures only part of the actual pattern of deaths. Many people who are homeless or without stable accommodation die in hospitals, emergency shelters or temporary accommodation; these cases are not included in the city’s new count and therefore disappear from public view. Jörn Sturm, managing director of the street magazine Hinz & Kunzt, warned that the narrower approach would make the figures visibly lower without reducing the risks faced by those affected.
The Social Affairs Department justifies the scope on the grounds that it makes comparisons easier and enables faster operational responses, for example in cold-weather support, prevention services and the coordination of emergency services. At the same time, it remains unclear how the statistics are to be systematically linked with hospital reports and forensic medicine data. Experts consider such a link necessary to capture the overall mortality of people who are homeless or without stable accommodation and to assess trends reliably. Without these additions, neither the health risks nor the effectiveness of measures can be assessed robustly.
Welfare organisations and some members of the City Assembly are therefore calling for transparency about definitions, scope and data flows. Specifically, they want the statistical links with hospitals, the police and the Institute of Forensic Medicine to be made public, along with regular reports on methodology and case numbers. Comprehensive, transparent recording is a prerequisite for identifying hazardous locations, planning the winter emergency shelter programme to meet needs, and expanding street-based medical outreach and psychosocial support.
The dispute points to a fundamental tension between figures that are quickly available for assessing local conditions and the need to keep track of the overall mortality of people who are homeless or without stable accommodation. While the city emphasises a pragmatic approach focused on public spaces, critics are calling for comprehensive statistics that count deaths regardless of where they occur, providing a firmer basis for policy decisions.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).