Linn Gabathuler
English Version
Youth around the Röntgenplatz –
Profiling by the Zurich city police and its consequences for young people in the neighborhood
Profiling by the Zurich city police and its consequences for young people in the neighborhood
In the module “Die Josefstrasse” in the Bachelor's program Trends & Identity at ZHdK, our class designed an audio walk along Josefstrasse in Zurich's Kreis 5 district, which thematically explores the neighborhood.
I focused on the Zurich city police's controls and profiling and how these restrict many young men in the neighborhood. I interviewed a fifteen-year-old who lives and grew up in the neighborhood about his experiences with the police, how he feels he is treated unfairly, and how the police controls restrict his freedom of movement in the neighborhood. In our conversation, I documented how young people who are perceived as male and who fit the police's profile due to their clothing or their presence in groups are subjected to excessive and often unjustified checks and detentions. Racial profiling also plays a role here. My interview partner and some of his friends also see this as a reason why they are so often picked up by the police: they are not perceived as white or Swiss enough. They regularly experience humiliation and demonstrations of power by the police, to which they are defenselessly exposed, and are thus driven out of public spaces, which already offer them little room. In the interview, I learn about the alternatives these boys seek when they lack freedom and how they have to organize themselves in District 5.
From my transcripts of the interview, I created a narrated account of the experience report, which was recorded and then published for the audio walk. The audio recording and the script can be found in this article.
In addition to my part of the audio walk, I was allowed to design the QR codes for distributing the project. I used laminated cards to which long threads were attached with an overlock sewing machine. This allowed the cards to be attached anywhere in the neighborhood. The QR codes were hung on benches, posts, fences, and plants, bringing our project directly to the people of the neighborhood.
Design and content: Linn Gabathuler
Created in June 2024 as part of the module “Die Josefstrasse,” Bachelor Trends & Identity, Zurich University of the Arts.