How is crime changing in Germany? Germany’s investigators keep meticulous records of this month after month. Police crime statistics is the name of the database in which every recorded crime and every suspect is listed. Last year the curve moved up so quickly that investigators sounded the alarm in the fall. “The rise in violent crime is steep,” warned BKA boss Holger Münch in November and quickly let ministers and experts argue about the questions at the autumn conference: “How do we break the wave?”
The experts couldn’t find a quick answer. The worrying trend continued at the end of the year. The number of crimes rose last year to almost six million, the highest level since 2016 (plus 5.5 percent). However, the increase in violent crime was even more significant, increasing by 8.6 percent to 214,000 cases. What is particularly politically explosive is that the number of foreign suspects in violent crimes has risen dramatically. While the number of German suspects grew by a good two percent, the number of foreign suspects increased by almost 15 percent.
“The increases in violent crime must be a wake-up call.”
The numbers rose so much that they triggered a heated political debate about the consequences even before the official presentation on Tuesday. “The nationwide increase in crimes and especially the increase in violent crime last year must be a wake-up call,” says Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann South German newspaper. The known figures also make it clear that “a high level of illegal immigration has a negative impact on the security situation”. On Monday, the CSU politician therefore called for “a quick and noticeable containment of illegal migration”. Until the EU’s external border protection is adequately expanded, the police must “consistently control” the internal borders. In addition, the federal government should bring itself to “reject illegal migrants at Germany’s borders even when they apply for asylum, especially if their identity has not been clarified.”
Other Union interior ministers, on the other hand, warn against taking hasty measures in the search for culprits. “The development of crime cannot be attributed to one development alone,” states Hesse’s Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU). “The mood in society has changed. There is more aggressiveness. The fuse has become shorter.” Respect, forbearance and tolerance have declined. The causes lie in the many crises that society is exposed to. These included the Middle East conflict, the war in Ukraine, high inflation and the consequences of the corona pandemic. For example, the protests in the wake of the Middle East conflict have led to more crimes. On Monday, Poseck called for the police to be better equipped with personnel and legal provisions. The federal government must finally create the framework for storing IP addresses to combat child abuse.
Leading domestic politicians in the SPD are also warning of consequences. The statistics are a clear task not only for the police, but also for politics and society, said Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister Daniela Behrens. The problems with growing crime must be named, including the sharp increase in children and young people, knife crime and non-German suspects. “In view of the increased number of knife attacks, I am in favor of expanding the weapon ban zones, especially in large cities,” Behrens told the SZ. The SPD politician also spoke out in favor of the “consistent repatriation” of foreign criminals. But also for more efforts to integrate refugees in order to prevent them from slipping into crime. It’s about targeting young people in order to integrate them into our community instead of excluding them, says the department of Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD).
The statistics are also making waves in the Bundestag. The increase in crimes worries them very much, said the parliamentary director of the Greens, Irene Mihalic. However, the Greens also criticize the significance of the data. Now “to convey the image to the population that the migrant is more criminal than other people in the country is misleading,” warned Mihalic. The crime rate is higher among poorer people. And those often included foreign people, warned party colleague Lamya Kaddor. The Greens say the government is working on introducing a “periodic safety report” that will scientifically analyze the statistics. In this way, political “short circuits” should be prevented.
“Gist for the mill of the extreme parties”
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai said that drawing conclusions from the crime statistics was a complex debate that he did not want to simplify. “The increase in violent crimes is worrying and must be analyzed carefully. The high proportion of foreign suspects must also be investigated. The focus must be on the consistent and rapid prosecution of the perpetrators.” Better control and management of migration is also an important component. However, the democratic parties in Germany should “deal with it very honestly,” just as they should argue “very objectively, but clearly and in line with reality” on the issue of migration. Otherwise, “those who certainly do not have good intentions for the country and are not interested in presenting solutions” will benefit.
The entire Bundestag will probably debate the correct lessons from statistics this week. Because the Union faction is considering requesting a current hour in the plenary session. “Now the Federal Minister of the Interior is in demand,” says Union parliamentary group deputy leader Andrea Lindholz. “An action plan consisting of preventive and repressive measures” must now be drawn up. “If Faeser lets things continue like this, it will be grist to the mill of the extreme parties.”