2024-04-09T17:14:58+00:00
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/ Crime rate statistics in Germany, which recorded the highest increase since 2016, sparked widespread controversy about the role of immigrants in raising these rates.
Statistics provided by the Ministry of the Interior showed that 41 percent of the perpetrators of crimes last year were immigrants who did not hold German citizenship, noting that 15 percent of Germany’s population are immigrants.
According to the Interior Ministry, Germany recorded nearly 6 million crimes last year, an increase of 5.5 percent over the previous year.
Statistics presented by Interior Minister Nancy Weiser at a press conference in Berlin showed a significant increase in violent crimes and theft in particular. Crime rates among Germans increased by 2.2 percent, while the percentage of people involved in crimes among non-Germans increased by 14.5 percent.
Weiser did not deny the impact of the increase in immigration in Germany on crime rates. In response to a question whether immigration to Germany had “made the country less safe,” Weiser admitted this by saying that “the increase in immigration led to a rise in crime rates,” but she added that for this reason, it should Take additional steps to enhance integration efforts.
Statistics showed that immigrants from Georgia and the Maghreb countries are among the foreign nationalities most involved in crimes, while Ukrainians are less involved in crimes than average due to the presence of a larger number of Ukrainian women and children, rather than men, as in other categories of immigrants.
However, Weser was keen to stress that Germany “remains one of the safest countries.”
The Minister of Interior attributed the rise in crime rates to 3 factors: The first is the return of life to normal after the closures during the Corona epidemic, the increase in drug trafficker activity, and the rise in immigration rates.
Vizer, who belongs to the Socialist Party, spoke about steps to enhance the integration of immigrants and reduce the burden on municipalities burdened with a large number of asylum seekers, as one of the steps to confront the high crime rates among immigrants.
She warned that the deportation of immigrants involved in crimes would be accelerated in the future.
“If the law is not respected, people will have to leave,” she said.
She said that Ukrainians will be excluded from deportation because this is not currently possible due to the war in their country.
Participating in the press conference alongside Weiser was the head of the German Interior Ministers’ Association, Michael Steuben, who belongs to the opposition Christian Democratic Party, who called for an “open and unbiased debate” about the results of statistics that indicate the significant involvement of immigrants in crimes. He said, “Ignoring the rate of immigrants’ involvement in crimes is not only wrong but also harmful,” and called for increased efforts to deport immigrants involved in crimes.
A number of officials in the opposition Christian Democratic Party, to which former Chancellor Angela Merkel belongs, called for taking concrete steps to deal with the increase in crime rates among immigrants.
Deputy head of the Christian Union parliamentary bloc, MP Andrea Lenholz, said that the government must “manage immigration better and we must know who is entering our country.”
He added that Germany has “reached its maximum capacity” in its ability to integrate immigrants, noting that people can be integrated, but not collectively.
Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Hermann, who belongs to the Bavarian Christian Social Party, also called for “particular attention to those who are not Germans and who pose a threat to security,” calling for their deportation to be expedited.
It is still not possible to deport Syrians, according to the assessment of the German Foreign Ministry, on which the Interior Ministry bases its deportation decisions. The Minister of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reuel, who belongs to the Christian Democratic Party, commented on the rise in crime rates, saying in statements to the newspaper “Bild” that “the mood in society has changed, and disputes are being resolved with hands instead of words,” adding that “wars and crises inflame the mood.” “It’s like a powder keg.”
There have also been warnings that the continued rise in crime will lead to increased pressure on the police.
The Secretary-General of the Federation of Police Unions, Jochen Kubelke, said in statements to the German Press Agency that greater and immediate investment must be made in securing additional numbers of police officers and enhancing their powers.
He added: “We need more money to be invested in prevention and accelerating prosecutions.”
He called for research into banning the carrying of knives among young people, to reduce stabbing crimes, which also recorded an increase last year.
“No one needs to carry a knife to defend themselves on our streets,” he said.
The statistics showed that more than 100,000 defendants were under the age of 14, an increase of 43 percent compared to 2019. Among these, a large percentage of those who do not speak German are immigrants.