Germany reports highest violence-related crimes in 15 years

Accessing police crime data for 2023, the "Welt am Sonntag" (WamS) found that violence-related crime reached a 15-year peak, with approximately 215,000 cases, marking an 8.6 percent rise from the previous year. This data is set to be officially presented by the German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, on the upcoming Tuesday. Notably, "dangerous and serious bodily injuries" surged by 6.8 percent to 154,541 cases, the highest count observed thus far, according to WamS. Similarly, deliberate simple assaults increased by 7.4 percent to 429,157 cases, surpassing the prior record of 406,038 cases in 2016.

Herbert Reul, Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, pointed out, "Conflicts are now more quickly settled with fists than words. Patience is wearing thin." He also highlighted how wars and crises have further inflamed tensions, likening the situation to a "powder keg."

Lower Saxony's Interior Minister, Daniel Behrens, shared that the spike in violence-related crimes is unlikely to be solely attributed to post-coronavirus pandemic catch-up effects. He suggested that inflation, increased post-pandemic mobility, and migratory movements could be contributing factors.

The WamS report also detailed a 9.3 percent increase in crime rates compared to 2019, i.e., before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Violent crimes specifically saw a significant uptick, with assaults climbing by roughly 17 percent to 44,857 cases. Knife attacks also recorded a nearly 10 percent increase, reaching 8,951 incidents.

The report observed a modest 2 percent rise in murders, homicides, and contract killings, totalling 2,282 cases. Similarly, instances of rape, sexual assaults, and particularly severe cases of sexual abuse went up by 2.4 percent to 12,186 cases. The overall number of suspects increased by 7.3 percent from the previous year, hitting 2.246 million. Among these, 923,269, or about 41 percent, did not hold German citizenship. Notably, the number of non-German suspects saw an 18 percent increase, involving 402,514 immigrants—a 29.8 percent rise. The detection rate for all recorded crimes stood at 58.4 percent.

Source: Deutsche Welle