Overview
- The city administration announced Tuesday that it will present a rule banning begging within a five‑metre radius of outdoor restaurant seating and ask the city council to vote on the ordinance in mid‑September.
- Violations would be treated as administrative offences subject to fines while the city says it will offer help through addiction services and social agencies to people who beg.
- Essen says the new, spatially limited rule responds to growing complaints from restaurateurs and visitors about frequent, intrusive solicitation that existing bans on aggressive or organised begging do not fully cover.
- Officials stress a citywide ban would be legally impermissible, so the five‑metre boundary is intended as a legally tailored tool that still lets licensed outdoor areas be used without repeated approaches by beggars.
- The proposal follows a similar limited measure adopted in Dortmund in August and reflects a wider trend among municipalities to combine enforcement with social support to address visible begging in central and nightlife districts.