Dramatic drop in theft sees crime in Germany fall by 15 percent

Official data has revealed that crime in Germany has fallen by 15 percent between 2005 and 2019. A significant drop in thefts and burglaries contributed to the fall in crime, but cybercrime and politically motivated crime are on the rise.

Germany: One of the safest countries in the world

Official data released to the German media has revealed that crime fell by 15 percent in the period between 2005 and 2019. The data comes as part of the government’s Periodic Security Report, which was presented in Berlin last week.

The report shows that the decline in overall crime is largely down to a drop in burglaries and thefts. Serious violent crime also fell within the study period, leading Horst Seehofer, Germany’s Interior Minister, to proclaim Germany as “one of the safest countries in the world.” He gave the example that Germany, compared to other international countries, records particularly low numbers of intentional homicides.

Online hate crime on the rise

Despite the drop in crime levels, German police have had to contend with a rise in politically motivated and online hate crimes. Germany has registered more than 20.000 political hate crimes every year since the European migrant crisis in 2015. The report also revealed that, in 2009, 21,1 percent of people accused of crimes were foreign nationals; this number rose to 34,6 percent.

The report also revealed that online far-right hate crimes, including anti-Semitism, have risen dramatically in Germany over the period under study. The coronavirus crisis also affected the national crime statistics, in that domestic violence rose over the course of the pandemic. However, crimes carried out in public fell.