Dresden, Germany, June 2018 – The German Forum DEFUS has elected the cities of Augsburg (Bavaria) – represented by Deputy Mayor Dirk Wurm – and Essen (North Rhine-Westphalia) – represented by Deputy Mayor Christian Kromberg – to its board, in replacement of outgoing President Martin Schairer – Deputy Mayor of Stuttgart –, during its General Assembly meeting held in Dresden, on 11 June 2018.
Dr. Martin Schairer, Deputy Mayor of Stuttgart in charge of Order, Security and Sport, presided over the creation of DEFUS, in 2010. “The baby is now a committed teenager and the time has come to hand the lead over to younger colleagues,” he told delegates. DEFUS members thanked him for his leadership and exemplary commitment to urban security in Germany and Europe. “DEFUS would not exist in this form without him,” said Erich Marks, Director of the German Congress on Crime Prevention and Vice President of Efus.
DEFUS’ leadership will be held by its new Chair Dirk Wurm, Augsburg’s Deputy Mayor in charge of Order, Security and Sport, and Deputy Chair Christian Kromberg, Essen’s Deputy Mayor in charge of Law, Public Security and Order.
Their priority, together with DEFUS Executive Director Anna Rau, is to consolidate and develop the German network, expand offers and services to members, increase the exchange of information and peer support between members, and to continue to liaise with other organisations working on crime prevention and urban security at national, European and international level.
Efus expresses its deep gratitude to Martin Schairer for his longstanding commitment to urban security in Europe and is happy to see Stuttgart continue to contribute to the work of Efus’ Executive Committee. Martin Schairer will remain a key person for the network and will continue to represent Efus in international arenas.
By the same token, Efus congratulates Dirk Wurm and Christian Kromberg. The cities of Augsburg and Essen share invaluable experience in crime prevention and have contributed to many Efus-led European projects on themes such as the prevention of radicalisation and of drug and alcohol addiction as well as many other issues of urban security.
The city of Augsburg will host Efus’ 2019 General Assembly meeting in April next year.
