Data released by the German Interior Ministry on Tuesday showed that crimes in Europe's largest economy have reached their highest peak since 2016.
The data, which sparked widespread debate, shows that last year, 41 percent of all crime suspects were foreigners, or persons without German citizenship. Foreigners in German represent only 15 percent of the population.
The Federal Criminal Police Office on Tuesday said it registered a 5.5 percent year-on-year increase in crimes in Germany, to 5.94 million cases in 2023.
The data, presented by Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, showed that the number of foreign suspects rose by 14.5%, with the number of German suspects increasing by 2.2%.
Faeser admitted the impact of higher immigration in Germany on crime rates, but said her country would take measures to enhance integration.
Data showed that mainly migrants from Georgia and the Arab Maghreb were involved in crimes. Ukrainians were less involved than average because the majority of Ukrainian migrants are women and children.
Despite the rising level of crime, Faeser insisted that Germany remains “one of the safest countries in the world.”
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) pointed to three factors that could have contributed to the rise: Ongoing post-COVID repercussion, inflation and increased migration over a short period leading to fewer integration opportunities for individual migrants.
Faeser, a Social Democrat in Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government, vowed to tackle rising crime by speeding up deportations of migrants.
“Anyone who doesn’t stick to the rules must leave,” she said, adding that the rules will not be imposed on Ukrainians due to the war.
Several officials from the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of former Chancellor Angela Merkel, have called for tougher migrant policies to deal with the rise in overall crime among foreigners.
CDU deputy parliamentary leader Andrea Lindholz said the government must manage immigration better and “we must know who is entering the country.”
Also, Richard Graupner of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Bavaria said, “What the AfD has warned about for years can no longer be hidden ... new crime statistics have triggered a debate on ‘foreigner crime.” He also called on the government to speed up deportations.
The deportation of Syrians is not currently possible, according to the German Foreign Ministry assessments.
State interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia Herbert Reul commented on the rise in crime rates. He told the Bild newspaper last week that the social behavior in Germany has lately changed, as disputes are being resolved “by hands instead of words.”
There have also been warnings that the continued rise in crime will lead to increased pressure on the police.
Jochen Kopelke, a police officer who heads Germany's largest police union, told the German news agency that greater and immediate efforts must be made in securing additional numbers of police officers and in strengthening their powers.
