2024-08-21 18:25:10
The Federal Police has published its 2023 annual report, which shows that violence against officers has increased sharply.
The Federal Police are recording more attacks on emergency personnel. A total of 2,979 federal police officers were attacked last year, the authority wrote in its new annual report, which was presented in Rostock – that is more than ever before. Of these, 145 police officers were injured during an operation in Lützerath, where people were protesting against open-cast brown coal mining.
Around a quarter of those attacked (793 police officers) were injured, which according to the Federal Police is also a record since data collection began in 2001. According to statistics, 11 percent, or 88 of those affected, were unfit for duty.
According to the Federal Police, physical violence was almost always involved in the attacks. According to the authority, most of the attacks occurred “during the performance of everyday duties”, mainly on patrol, during criminal investigations or when accompanying repatriations. According to statistics, the majority of attacks occurred during operations at the railway. Attacks also occurred at events and football matches.
According to the report, the perpetrators were mostly men (78 percent) and on average 33 years old. Almost half were under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The majority were known to the police, almost a quarter were repeat or intensive offenders. Almost half had a German passport.
Last year, the Federal Police also recorded a record number of crimes since 2012. In 2023, 790,245 crimes were registered. According to the information, this is 12.5 percent more than in the previous year. Crimes relating to residence rights have risen particularly sharply. Here, the number was 389,331 (plus 38.8 percent year-on-year).
There were also sharp increases in sexual offenses (plus 14.9 percent), baggage theft and theft of luggage (plus 16.4 percent) and violent crimes (plus 10.6 percent). More than half of all crimes under the jurisdiction of the Federal Police – around 425,000 – were committed on trains, at stations or at other railway facilities.
“As in recent years, major city train stations are particularly affected by violent crimes,” the report states. “Nevertheless, more serious crimes are also being detected in small towns and rural areas, as well as on trains.”
In view of the Federal Police’s annual report on t-online, Heiko Teggatz, Chairman of the German Police Union (DPolG) Federal Police, is calling for a “significant increase in the number of personnel in the Federal Police. The Federal Police also needs modern and up-to-date powers, such as responsibility for measures to terminate residence within the country as well.”
Violence against federal police officers also occurs again and again. In order to counteract this, we need “taser equipment and anonymous behavior recognition using video technology at our main train stations.”
He is curious “whether Minister Faeser draws such logical conclusions from the figures presented,” said Teggatz. “If this is not the case, it would be further evidence that the excellent work of the Federal Police is merely being misused for election campaign purposes.”
The Federal Police Police Union (GDP) also reacted clearly to the annual report. “The increase in crimes by 12.5 percent compared to 2022 alone shows that we must continue to invest in internal security and thus in the Federal Police,” the union explains in a letter that t-online has seen.
Train stations were the main focus. Here alone, the Federal Police were short around 3,000 colleagues: “Violent crimes, but also sexual crimes, have increased sharply. It is important to counteract this negative trend with a strong Federal Police.”
The Federal Police have so far counted 373 knife-related crimes in the first half of the year. In 2023, there were a total of 639 such crimes, as the “Bild” newspaper previously reported. In addition, there were seven knife-related crimes in the first half of the year at so-called stopping points, i.e. smaller stops that are not included in the statistics as train stations. In 2023, there were eleven crimes there.
Incidents occurred significantly more frequently on the route, where the federal police recorded 84 knife-related crimes between January and June, compared to 196 crimes in the whole of the previous year. However, this does not only include knife attacks, but also crimes in which a knife was simply carried.
Investments are also needed at the border, writes the union: “We must move towards modern, flexible and situation-adapted controls; unpredictable for people who come to us illegally and unpredictable for the people smugglers. Investments are urgently needed here.”
This can currently only be achieved by working a lot of overtime. “We are running on wear and tear here. In the long run, we cannot afford to use the riot police to this extent in the area of border controls. We run the risk of not being able to serve other deployments.” The promised funds of an additional 50 million euros this year and 300 million euros annually from 2025 would “probably not be enough” to meet the “high burden”.