As of: April 8, 2024, 2:57 p.m
By: Peter Sieben
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The number of violent crimes has increased in Germany - as has the number of non-German suspects. This leaves room for very different interpretations.
Berlin - Blank numbers alone say nothing about reality - and yet: The police crime statistics for 2023 contain spikes that at least make you sit up and take notice. On Tuesday, Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) will present the statistics in Berlin; some figures are already known. The number of all registered crimes rose to almost six million last year.
Police crime statistics 2023: Significant increase in violent crimes and non-German suspects
Striking: There was a significant increase in violent crimes in particular; the number of crimes reached 215,000 cases, the highest level in 15 years. Another aspect: A total of 41 percent of all suspects - i.e. all people who have been reported or against whom proceedings are ongoing - are foreigners. And here the raw numbers become the basis for interpretation.
Serap Güler (CDU) has been a member of the Bundestag since 2021. © Peter Sieben
“The number doesn’t surprise me when I see who is fighting through our European external borders,” says CDU interior expert Serap Güler to
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. “These are the strongest and unfortunately not the ones most in need of help,” said the Bundestag member. She wants to state things clearly: “That’s why it’s important now to reduce the number of people coming to us. This insight is the first path to the solution. Anything else just plays into the hands of populists.”
CDU politician calls for “limitation of illegal migration”
The domestic policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group, Alexander Throm, sees the traffic light government as being to blame for the high increase in violent crimes: “The current federal government, especially the Greens and the FDP, are doing everything they can to make it as easy as possible for criminals.” said Throm in an interview with this editorial team. There are too few resources for security authorities and investigators, and undercover investigators are “managed and disproportionately restricted” by excessive data protection hurdles, says Thron. “Where data protection takes precedence over victim protection, in the end you only benefit the criminals. The FDP is therefore a security risk for Germany.”
Furthermore, one must admit that “in the area of crime, too, our system is hopelessly overwhelmed by the almost unlimited influx from abroad”. He also calls for: “Limiting illegal migration, improved controls and consistent punishment of crimes.”
Debate about upper limits “mutates into a running joke”
The SPD member of the Bundestag Macit Karaahmetoğlu does not accept this. “We have the debate about so-called 'foreign crime' every year when the annual figures are published,” he says to
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. The discussion of upper limits is now mutating into a “running gag”. “Foreign origin does not make you a criminal,” said Karaahmetoğlu. Nevertheless, people of non-German origin disproportionately often live in poor economic conditions, which paves the way for theft crimes in particular. “Experiences of violence, for example while fleeing, can also lead to increased potential for violence,” said the SPD politician.
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“I therefore consider using complex statistics such as police crime statistics to stir up sentiment against all non-Germans to be extremely dangerous for our social climate.” Statistically speaking, young men in particular dominate the group of refugees. This is also the group that is most often suspected of a crime - regardless of their origin.
GdP leader Jochen Kopelke calls for more preventative measures
Jochen Kopelke, head of the police union (GdP), is now calling for more differentiation. Kopelke told this editorial team that he shared the assessment of the experts from the Federal Criminal Police Office: “The number of suspects has increased, especially among non-German suspects. However, this increase only represents the absolute number of suspects.” However, the high level of immigration, especially in the last two years, must be compared to the population with non-German citizenship. “Then, according to the BKA, the increase in non-German suspects is even lower than in German suspects.”
Basically, he sees several factors for the increase in violent crimes: “After the Corona period, there is more public mobility in society again, we have a higher population and, recently, an economically stressful situation.” These factors have led to more opportunities for crime. Significantly improved prevention measures are now important. “However, our colleagues experience every day that they do not get any time for preventative measures and there is no money available for needed projects,” says Kopelke.
Police policy SPD spokesman Sebastian Fiedler: Take a differentiated look at crime statistics
Anti-violence campaigns are also neglected. One worrying phenomenon in particular needs to be addressed: the use of knives. According to statistics, the number of knife attacks has increased by around ten percent compared to the previous year. “Nobody needs to defend themselves with a knife on our streets,” Kopelke makes clear.
Similar to Kopelke, the police policy spokesman for the SPD parliamentary group, Sebastian Fiedler, argues: “If you want to talk seriously about the problem, you have to look at the individual phenomena separately and not mix everything up.” One could estimate the number of foreign suspects to be around 41 percent don't let it stand for itself. “Crimes that only foreigners can commit, such as illegal entry, are not taken into account,” says Fiedler. “Another example: People of North African descent who come to Germany from the Netherlands, blow up ATMs, and drive back to the neighboring country. They can’t help them when they demand upper limits for migration in Germany.”