interview
The crime statistics only show part of the picture, says criminologist Boers. Important figures were still missing to assess the situation. Integration options in schools are particularly important for prevention.
tagesschau24: We are seeing a significant increase in crimes in the new crime statistics. Are the numbers alarming?
Klaus Boers: I wouldn’t say that, because basically in the last twenty years we have had a massive decline in all Western countries – both in crime, especially violent crime, and in fear of crime.
Police data is part of what we use to create a crime picture. Added to this is the dark field – we don’t have the numbers. We won’t get reasonably reliable dark field numbers to assess the situation until the end of the year. We are now at about the same level as we were in 2017.
To person
Klaus Boers is a criminologist at the University of Münster. One of his main research interests is juvenile crime.
tagesschau24: So overall the numbers are at a low level?
Boers: They have risen from a low level. The increase is quite clear within the police data, but we need to see whether this is also reflected in the dark field.
“More people, more crime”
tagesschau24: The proportion of foreigners among criminals has increased. How do you assess that?
Boers: First of all, a million people came to us last year alone. And then it’s basically like this: more people, more crime.
The fact that foreign suspects are more heavily charged can be seen in the dark field data that we have, as well as in the police data, i.e. the bright field. They have a higher burden than Germans. But now you have to see the following: young, male, social, not integrated – then you also have a higher crime rate among Germans.
For criminologists, migration is not a reason in itself. It’s simple: if you have immigrants from Scandinavia, from wealthier backgrounds or from East Asia, then you have less crime. The same applies if you have immigrants from Turkey who are middle and upper class. The problem is that we have a very high level of poverty crime and people who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“I would be careful with quick advice”
tagesschau24: They say foreigners have a higher burden. What exactly do you mean by that?
Boers: We don’t have very precise figures on crime committed by non-Germans. But the proportion of suspects is twice as high as the proportion of Germans.
tagesschau24: The political debate about what to do now has long since broken out. For example, whether tougher action should be taken against immigration. What would you advise politicians?
Boers: Given that we should perhaps wait a little more closely to see how things develop, I would be cautious about giving quick advice. At least when it comes to juvenile criminal law and juvenile prosecution – that’s where the main things take place – we are actually well positioned, as is society.
We have learned a lot when it comes to integration. One problem, of course, is the large number. You reach your limits when it comes to social integration options. This particularly applies to schools. I think we should keep an eye on the fact that we are seeing growth rates among children.
Children are reported more often. And if you put that in the context of the fact that we have classes in which eight or nine languages are spoken, with students from different cultures, then it’s a big challenge.
“Police data is not the best data”
tagesschau24: If you had to be very specific: What needs to work better?
Boers: Above all, I would make sure that we have enough integration potential in schools. There, the crucial norms and values are taught for the criminologically relevant ages – 12 to 19. So prosocial attitudes and norms, dealing with conflicts. And schools have a really big task here. If they can’t meet them, we’ll have a problem.
tagesschau24: Do we have to prepare for the fact that crime will now increase every year in the future?
Boers: This is reading coffee grounds. Who should know that? Police data is not the best data you can have for assessing crime. We’ve now had two years of watching this. The long-term trend has been downward. It is also historically downwards, especially when it comes to violent crime.
I would say: Now wait and see, analyze the situation, see where the problem areas are. People trying to use the numbers for their programs is nothing new. Crime figures are always political figures.
Overall, we in Germany are not badly positioned with our criminal law, our police, society and our integration options to be able to deal with such social problems.
Sandra Rieß conducted the interview. It has been shortened and edited for the written version.