A recent act of violence has shocked Germany: a Deutsche Bahn employee was checking passengers on a regional train near the southwestern city of Kaiserslautern on Monday night when he encountered a man traveling alone without a valid ticket. When the train conductor asked the passenger to leave the train at the next stop, he was attacked and punched repeatedly.

The train conductor lost consciousness, had to be resuscitated and died a day later in a hospital from a brain hemorrhage as a result of blunt force trauma. The alleged perpetrator is now in custody.

Statistics show that last year alone, nearly 3,000 railway employees were attacked. According to the German Interior Ministry, an average of five employees were physically assaulted and four threatened every day. "I don't check tickets because I want to get home alive," a conductor told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. 

However, this threatening development is by no means new, violence researcher Jonas Rees told DW. 

"We have seen a steady increase in violence since 2015. The new normal for at least the last 10 years has been that it is virtually part of everyday life for employees to be verbally abused, insulted, threatened, or even physically attacked," he said.

"The crucial point, however, is not whether our society is becoming increasingly brutal, but rather what we have become accustomed to in terms of violence and misconduct over the last few years," said Rees.

Fridays, train delays and too much alcohol

Rees is a political psychologist at Bielefeld University and has spent more than a year researching the causes of violence against railway employees. His research found that violence occurs particularly frequently when passengers are intoxicated, when trains are overcrowded or delayed, and when they are traveling to and from major events.

The day of the week also plays a major role, with the number of violent incidents rising significantly on Saturdays and especially on Fridays after work. However, verbal abuse and physical assaults occur primarily during ticket inspections, according to Rees.

"We know that the likelihood of violence increases when potential perpetrators can escape the situation without being identified. And that's why the rail context is, unfortunately, somewhat predestined for violence: you have a public space, often alcohol consumption, and the opportunity to simply get off at the next stop and disappear."

Railway employees targeted for railway's shortcomings

Railway employees are not the only ones fearing for their physical safety. Police officers, firefighters and paramedics are also increasingly becoming targets of violence.

"One thing that public service employees have in common is that police officers, emergency responders and railway employees in particular, wear uniforms. And this leads to a kind of vicarious liability, with police officers often being attacked on behalf of the state they represent, and railway employees on behalf of the railway," explained Rees.

It also affects civil servants who do not wear uniforms: Rees and his research team recently surveyed 2,000 teachers in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, who are also increasingly being harassed and attacked by students and even parents.

Tougher penalties for attackers or better prevention?

Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt, of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU), wants to significantly increase the minimum penalties for attackers as a consequence. "I expect the perpetrator to be punished with the full force of the law for his brutal act," the CSU politician said in relation to the death of the train conductor.

But Rees does not believe tougher penalties are effective. "In spontaneously occurring and rapidly escalating situations, a violent offender is not usually stopped by the thought 'Oh dear, the penalty for that has recently been increased.' So a tougher penalty won't necessarily help prevent spontaneous acts of violence."

Instead, it's essential to increase staffing levels, especially when it comes to security personnel. The railway company should prepare its employees for dangerous situations with several days of de-escalation training, he said. Train attendants should also have the option of not carrying out ticket inspections if they consider the situation to be dangerous. Turnstiles in front of the platforms would also be a good idea, as they would eliminate the need for ticket inspections.

"Another point is lockable retreat and shelter rooms that are accessible at all times. These are actually not available on many trains, and on some they have even been actively removed. I am a big believer in prevention and de-escalation," said Rees. "I would rather be prepared for a dangerous situation that never happens than be unprepared for a dangerous situation when it does happen."

Railway boss Evelyn Palla plans to hold a security summit in the next few days, inviting politicians from all 16 federal states, trade union officials, police representatives and regional transport providers to discuss specific measures on increasing security.

This article was originally written in German.

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