Group security
Management approach and targets
Safety is a basic human need. For our customers, safety is an essential criterion when selecting a means of transport. For our employees, safety is a prerequisite for carrying out their work in a responsible and customer-focused manner. Every day, we are responsible for the millions of people and goods that are transported on our infrastructure. Protection against attacks, theft and other criminal offenses along our production processes and travel chains is the top priority of DB Group’s security organization. DB Group’s internal agencies are in constant dialog with the security authorities. Consistently sharing status information between the Group Security function and the Federal police headquarters is a round-the-clock task shared by DB Group and the Federal police in our security center. The operations centers in the regional divisions of DB Security coordinate regional security issues and are the 24/7 point of contact for the business units, non-Group train operating companies and authorities. In total, about 6,000 Federal police officers and about 4,500 DB security personnel are deployed across Germany. DB Group Security and the Federal police are constantly recruiting new employees and expanding their training capacities. In September 2023, about 100 vocational trainees began their three-year apprenticeship to be safety and security specialists. This means that about 250 young people in DB Group throughout Germany secure young talent in this area. A further increase of up to 500 security personnel is planned in order to meet the obligations arising from the KRITIS umbrella law (Critical Infrastructure Protection Act). The main focus is on building up and training our own personnel resources and scaling back the use of security personnel from contracted companies. The process of filling the positions and qualifying applicants started in the second half of 2023. In addition to vocational training, continuous further education and training are essential prerequisites for a stable security situation. In accordance with statutory requirements, all security personnel employed by DB Group receive a total of 24 hours of training at least four times a year. In 2023, DB Security employees completed up to 50 hours of further training beyond the statutory requirements, depending on their activity. Ongoing training on de-escalation and self-protection is required so that employees are able to act in an empathetic and de-escalating manner in all situations. Content relating to civil and criminal law is taught in the context of fundamental and human rights. Social and intercultural skills are included in the training to ensure that employees interact professionally and empathetically with all people in stations and on trains. The participants alone ensure a diversity of perspectives and cultures: people from more than 50 countries work at DB Security.
The number of crimes committed against DB Group and its customers is below the previous year’s level (about –10%). In view of the renewed increase in passenger numbers following the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions, this demonstrates that DB Group’s safety concepts are having a positive effect on both actual and perceived safety. The decline in trespassing violations (about –28%) is noteworthy, confirming that the continuous presence of security personnel on trains and in stations is a key factor in ensuring safety. The human factor, which is vital for ensuring safety, is increasingly being supported by technological solutions. Be it video technology, drones, sensor technology or evaluation of data and information using artificial intelligence, opportunities are expanding and job profiles are changing in the security sector. The total numbers of metal theft offenses (about +14%) and ticket machine break-ins (about +10%) increased, but remain on a low level. On the other hand, a slight decline was recorded in graffiti offenses (about –8%).
Security at DB Group
DB Group spends about € 200 million annually on the security of its customers and employees.
The Group-wide Safe Travel program focuses on measures that notably increase security for both employees and customers. Since 2019, DB Long-Distance has gradually expanded the support provided by DB Security on board long-distance trains by commissioning additional services. In particular, additional services were provided for occasions such as soccer fan travel or major events, but increasingly also on busy travel days during regular operation. DB Security employees are currently on duty on long-distance trains both at night and during the day, assisting employees on board the trains, increasing the feeling of safety among passengers and making a major contribution to preventing criminal acts. This enables us to meet the requirements and demands of customers, employees and interest groups.
Technical applications are being used to an increasing extent to better protect employees. Following individual tests involving bodycams for train personnel, DB Regional tested their practical use and effectiveness on a larger scale in three regions for the first time in 2023. The outcome was that there were no assaults on employees equipped with bodycams. According to those taking part in the test, the presence of the bodycam alone averted numerous critical situations. The devices will be introduced throughout Germany in regular operation from 2024, initially on a voluntary basis.
24/7 threat management
Employees should be able to work without any risks to their health and without emotional strain. Many employees are not always able to find the right point of contact for these issues in their immediate working environment. Since 2021, employees have been able to contact threat management experts around the clock in the event of threats and personal distress. Depending on the situation, activities range from advice and referral to further support services to direct intervention in the work environment or requests for support from authorities. Whether employees receive a threat before, during or after their shift, or if they are experiencing stress in their personal lives, specially trained employees receive their reports and decide how to best support them. In 2023, the threat management team received about 150 approaches from employees (previous year: about 100). As in the previous year, about 50 of these cases required further support, in some cases over a period of several months. The increase in the number of approaches is due to the employees’ growing awareness of the service.
Continuous expansion of video technology on trains and in stations
The use of video technology is a decisive component for greater security. We want to increase the number of video cameras in stations to about 11,000 by the end of 2024. By the end of 2023, about 10,000 cameras had been installed in about 800 stations; more than ever before.
DB Group invests not only in quantity, but also in quality: new state-of-the-art multi-sensor cameras monitor everyday life at the station from thousands of angles, making travel even safer. Older video cameras are therefore being gradually replaced by modern ones. The Federal police have exclusive access to the footage saved.
The number of cameras on regional and S-Bahn (metro) trains is also continuing to increase: currently, more than 50,000 video cameras are used to provide clear evidence in the event of an emergency. This means that the interior of more than 80% of the local transport fleet is under video surveillance – about a third more than in 2017.
Prevention work
Time and again, accidents occur on rail facilities because people underestimate the dangers of moving trains, speeds and electrical voltage and fail to keep a safe distance. If there is anyone on the tracks who is not rail staff, rail operations often have to be suspended. To prevent accidents and avoid interruptions to rail operations, DB Group is focusing on education and awareness-raising. Following the positive response to the new prevention work established in 2020 regarding hazards on railroad facilities, DB Group has increased the number of personnel in the prevention teams. The number of prevention officers was doubled to 24 in 2023 so as to have an even greater presence and more points of contact for internal and external partners. Our focus continues to be on our presence at stations and railroad facilities. There, as well as in schools and municipal facilities, employees raise awareness of appropriate behavior at railroad facilities, explain the dangers of rail operations and work together with the Federal police on crime prevention.
Presence of and close cooperation with the Federal police
We are continuing to steadily increase the presence of our own security officers. The two-person patrols and operations teams made up of security personnel members are being supported in all regions by Mobile Support Groups (MSGs) which are specially qualified for challenging deployments. In addition to the requirements stipulated in transport contracts, this also helps to fulfill safety requirements on trains and in stations. As part of the law enforcement partnership, cooperation between DB Group security personnel and Federal police officers has been further intensified. Joint trainings, the arrangement of qualifications for use in the rail sector and the joint planning and handling of special situations, for example in the case of match-day fan travel, are an expression of the law enforcement partnership and make a concrete contribution to greater security in the rail sector.
Attacks on employees
Due to the gradual introduction of the Corporate Security Platform recording system in the individual business units, the comparability of individual figures of assaults on employees with the previous year is limited.
The number of assaults on employees (including threats and attempts) in 2023 was on a par with the previous year at 3,144 cases (previous year: 3,140 cases). The continuous increase seen in previous years has therefore slowed down. The most frequently affected professions are the train attendants at a rate of 62% and security and law enforcement at 31%. The main triggers for violence against train personnel are having no or invalid tickets, and for violence against security personnel, the enforcement of house rules. Employees with bodycams and security personnel with guard dogs were hardly ever attacked.
“Safe Travel” building block
With the “Safe Travel” employee building block, employees defined safety as a core area of action for DB Group. Thanks to cooperation between the Group Security function and the business units, and in coordination with employees, measures are being implemented to increase the safety of employees and customers: in 2023, activities continued to focus on the development of the Group-wide Corporate Security Platform (CSP). The CSP allows for faster recognition of dangerous situations, a faster and more targeted response and for the situational information gained through continuous evaluation to be incorporated directly into security measures and, in the long term, into security concepts. Any incidents that occur between employees and customers are now recorded in the CSP. In addition to the interfaces with the operational communication systems of the business units, Web-based access is gradually offering more and more employees the opportunity to record incidents and observations, even if they are not integrated into the business unit-specific systems. From 2024 onwards, an app will also be available to DB employees on company devices to supplement the input options available to them. The involvement of all business units, regular dialog with the employees who initiated contact and continuous cooperation with the interest groups create a high level of acceptance and willingness to use the system. This makes the CSP the organizational and functional backbone of security at DB Group.
Südkreuz security station
DB Group and the Federal police are continuously developing their security concepts further. Berlin Südkreuz station serves as a location for testing new technologies under real-life conditions. This includes the illuminated platform edge, which indicates the occupancy level of trains and warns of approaching trains. The SafeNow app, which passengers can use to request assistance, has also been available to customers at Hamburg Central Station since fall 2023.
The “Safe stations for all” study, which DB Group commissioned in 2023 in connection with the security station, sheds light on different forms of use by various stakeholders with regard to subjective and objective safety. One finding is the need for overarching cooperation that focuses more on social services and offers more support to people in social conflict. As a direct consequence of the results of the study, so-called station walkers have been deployed at Berlin Südkreuz and Berlin Ostbahnhof stations since the end of 2023. The station walkers complement and broaden the range of activities carried out by security personnel with a very low threshold social service.
Social projects affecting safety in stations
The station walkers are part of the initiative launched in 2022 by DB Group, the Federal police and the Bahnhofsmissionen (train station welfare centers). The aim is to resolve the often assumed opposition of security and social work by raising awareness among employees and involving new network partners. The focus is on regular dialog and exchange as well as short internships and further training for employees to encourage a change of perspective. In what is now the initiative’s third year, DB Security trainees, for example, have broadened their social skills through short internships in social institutions such as the train station and city welfare centers as part of their training.
