The rise in crime rates among non-Germans is sparking controversy
Data from the German Ministry of the Interior showed that the proportion of suspects who are non-Germans in violent crimes has significantly increased in 2024. However, the precise interpretation of these figures remains widely debated, especially in light of the rising political discourse related to immigration and the banning of parties, such as the classification of the AfD party as a far-right movement.
In response to a request for information from AfD party deputies, the German government presented striking figures on crime development between 2000 and 2024. Despite this data, the government emphasized that the interpretation of statistics should be done with caution, due to the complexities of counting suspects, especially after the introduction of what is known as the 'real count of suspects' since 2009, which prevents counting the same person more than once if they are registered in more than one state.
The data indicates significant increases in the percentage of non-Germans among suspects in several types of crimes. In threat crimes, the percentage of non-Germans rose to 34% in 2024, with an overall increase of 217.7%. In cases of intentional minor assault, the percentage of non-Germans reached 35.8%, with an increase of 170.7%, and in serious assaults, it was 42.7%. Their percentage also reached 44.6% in murder and manslaughter cases.
At the same time, the report indicated that the request for detailed data on the nationalities of suspects who are not German is "impossible" from a technical standpoint, due to the enormous volume of data (over 93 million records since 2009), which requires an unreasonable amount of effort and time.
The ministry clarified that these increases may be expected due to demographic changes resulting from waves of migration, especially with the rising percentage of young males among immigrants, a group that statistically shows a higher tendency towards violence. Additionally, difficult social conditions such as poverty or previous experiences with violence affect crime rates among refugees.
The data released by the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) reignited the debate in March 2025, after it announced that the percentage of non-German suspects in crimes (excluding residency-related offenses) reached 34.4%, a record high.
However, specialized organizations like Mediendienst Integration have warned against over-reliance on these statistics, as they only represent the "known crimes" to the police and do not reflect cases that have not been reported or acquittals in courts. Additionally, foreigners, according to studies, are reported and monitored more than German citizens.
On the other hand, a study by the ifo Institute published via ZDF indicated that the location of housing also plays a role in crime rates, and that media coverage contributes to amplifying the negative image of foreigners, as suspects who are not German are often disproportionately emphasized in news reports compared to their actual percentage in statistics.