on Wednesday described a steep rise in sexual violence as “very worrying” as she presented Germany’s latest crime statisticsin Berlin.
The statistics compiled for 2024 also showed there had been a steep increase in violent acts committed by young people, particularly those still classed as children.
How do Germany’s crime figures stack up?
The report said the statistics gave “cause for concern overall.”
Although the number of registered crimes fell by 1.7% to nearly 6 million cases last year compared to 2023, the development was largely attributed to the partial legalization of cannabis last April.
“Violent crime, however, increased by 1.5%,” the report said. “With more than 217,000 violent crimes nationwide, it reached its highest level since 2007.”
The statistics showed a total of 13,320 cases of rape and sexual assault for 2024 — an increase of 9.3% compared to the previous year.
Of the 11,329 suspects identified in such crimes, 6,892 were German citizens and just over a third, 4,437, were .
According to the figures, the number of child suspects in violent crimes increased by 11.3%, and among juveniles by 3.8%. Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) chief Holger Münch and Faeser cited psychological stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic as the main reason for this.
What did Faeser say about violence against women?
Faeser said Germany’s must focus on , with more prosecutions and greater use of electronic monitoring.
“We need a stronger protection and support system for women,” said the center-left Social Democrat politician. “And we finally need electronic ankle bracelets so that perpetrators can no longer approach threatened women unnoticed. Protecting women from violence must also be a central task for the next federal government.”
Faeser noted that more than a third of the suspects in such cases did not have German citizenship. “This is not just about consistent prosecution but also about consistent deportations.
“To this end, we have tightened our laws. The number of deportations is 55% higher today than two years ago. This is how we enforce our law,” Faeser said.
What is Germany doing to tackle the rise in violent crime?
Faeser said the legal system must take “tough action” against violent offenders, and highlighted .
“The knife bans we have introduced now apply to public events, festivals, public transport, and many other places — and can be checked and enforced without cause. Knives have no place in public,” she said.
Police chief Münch said the increase in violent crime was part of a trend, having now reached a record high. He also addressed the rise in violent crime among young people.
“The sharp increase among children and adolescents is particularly striking. Continued stress as a result of the coronavirus measures is a possible driver of delinquency, especially among this age group. However, research is needed to better understand the causes of this development and to effectively counteract it.”
Ulrich Mäurer, interior minister of the city-state of Bremen who also presented the report, said “consistent law enforcement and effective preventive measures” were needed.
Uptick in crimes by non-Germans
“Nationwide networking between security, health, and, where appropriate, immigration and weapons authorities must be ensured,” he said.
Measured against the proportion of the total population, the police recorded a four-times higher proportion of foreigners among suspects in violent crimes; across all crimes, this proportion was almost three times higher.
Across all crimes, the proportion was 41.8% in 2024 – 0.7% points higher than in 2023 and almost twice as high as in 2010.
BKA chief Münch attributed this to the high proportion of young men among foreigners — a group that is generally more likely to commit violent offenses than older people and women. In addition, experiences of violence and psychological stress in the country of origin often played a role.
“Migration management is enormously important in order to be able to control this problem at all,” said Münch.
Was there a real fall in overall crime?
While wider crime figures for 2024, including non-violent offenses, showed a dip, this was deemed to have been due to the partial legalization of the possession and cultivation of cannabis.
“Without this change in the law, there would have been stagnation,” said police chief Münch.
On the issue of drugs, Münch pointed to the changing narcotics market with more drug-related deaths, “a flood of cocaine,” and more synthetic drugs. “This development is worrying,” he said.
Edited by: Sean Sinico
The post Germany sees rise in sexual violence and youth offenses appeared first on Deutsche Welle.
