Die Linke candidate Eilf Eralp demands more staff and specialized prosecutors to fight organized crime in Berlin

Platform on organized crime

Eilf Eralp, the lead candidate for Die Linke in the Berlin state election, announced a policy focus on combating organized crime across the German capital. Speaking in an interview with the news portal t-online, Eralp made a deliberate distinction in her terminology regarding illicit networks operating in the city. She stated that her policy platform targets organized crime rather than focusing on the classification of clan crime. Eralp argued that public authorities in Berlin must avoid budget reductions in judicial and law enforcement branches. Instead, she called for the city administration to allocate additional personnel to investigate and counter criminal organizations effectively.

I am not speaking of clan criminality, but of organized crime. And in this area we cannot make cuts, but must deploy additional personnel.

Demands for specialized prosecution and investigators

As a core structural measure, Eralp advocated for the creation of specialized public prosecutors' offices to handle complex cases in Berlin. She connected organized crime directly to large-scale financial offenses, identifying tax evasion as a key area requiring intensified state enforcement. Eralp stated that the public purse is deprived of millions of euros because authorities currently employ an insufficient number of tax investigators. She argued that increasing investigator staff is necessary to recover these lost public revenues and secure funds for the state. The Linke candidate pointed to financial inspection and targeted judicial prosecution as essential tools to dismantle illicit commercial structures.

Protection racketeering and public safety concerns

In addition to financial fraud, Eralp addressed violent criminality and coercive schemes operating within the capital. She identified protection racketeering as an extensive problem affecting Berlin residents, commercial operations, and local business owners. Eralp stated that extortion activities have resulted in lethal violence, pointing out that individuals are being shot in the city. Her statements focused on the immediate physical danger that organized extortion networks pose across urban districts. She maintained that specialized prosecution, expanded investigator numbers, and adequate judicial staffing are necessary to halt violent extortion operations.

There I am also thinking of tax evasion, which we must fight more strongly. The state loses millions because we do not have enough tax investigators. In Berlin, protection racketeering is also a huge problem, people are being shot.

Context of the Berlin parliamentary election

Eralp presented these law enforcement and fiscal policy demands during the closing stages of the state political campaign. Berlin voters will cast their ballots to elect a new House of Representatives on Sunday, 20 September 2026. The vote determines the parliamentary representation of the federal state and the political composition of the upcoming legislature. Questions of judicial staffing, fiscal oversight, and crime prevention form key discussion points for political parties leading into the weekend vote. Eralp and Die Linke are using the final days before the election to advance proposals for specialized prosecution and increased public staffing across Berlin.