The Federal Police recorded almost 800,000 crimes last year. The temporary border controls resulted in more illegal entries being detected and people-smuggling crimes being uncovered.
Last year, the Federal Police recorded more crimes than in twelve years. New records were recorded for sexual crimes, knife attacks and thefts. A total of 790,245 crimes were registered.
Attacks on police officers have also reached a shocking record, as German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Monday when presenting the Federal Police’s annual report. Around 3,000 federal police officers were attacked last year.
It is also clear that crime has increased significantly due to irregular migration. The highest number to date is knife attacks (853 crimes), especially at train stations and on trains. In relation to the total population, foreign nationals have statistically reached for a knife six times more often than Germans, explained the head of the Federal Police, Dieter Romann.
There is a similar trend in sexual crimes in the train station area. These crimes were also committed seven times more often by migrants than by German citizens, said Romann. The Federal Police counted 1,898 sexual crimes last year, 14.9 percent more than in 2022.
“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.” The Federal Police is responsible for protecting land and sea borders, but also secures train stations and airports and supports the state police forces. It has more than 55,000 employees.
Record number of illegal entries
Due to the temporary reintroduction of border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, the Federal Police uncovered more illegal border crossings. According to the report, with 127,549 detected illegal entries into Germany, a new record was reached since 2016. Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of around 39 percent.
Officials registered the most illegal entries at the land border with Poland (32,893 cases), followed by Austria (28,099 cases), Switzerland (18,539 cases) and the Czech Republic (16,700 cases). This year, the number of illegal entries has decreased slightly, which Faeser and Romann considered a success. The border with Austria has been under control since 2015.
The temporary establishment of border controls was the right step, said Faeser. The controls would continue as long as necessary. Faeser made it clear that the increased entry controls would also thwart human trafficking. In total, around 2,900 people smugglers were arrested last year, who had smuggled around 40,000 people.
Thanks to their presence at the borders, the federal police were also able to execute more arrest warrants. Last year, an average of 60 per day was executed, said Romann. The trend is also increasing this year. In the first half of the year, 12,000 arrest warrants were already executed.
Faeser wants to force deportations of criminals
At the same time, Faeser urged a rapid implementation of the European asylum reform. This is the key to an EU-wide distribution of asylum seekers. “We absolutely need a fair distribution,” Faeser stressed. Germany currently bears the brunt of migration in Europe and is the main destination country for asylum seekers.
Faeser sees success in the deportation of migrants who do not have the right to asylum in Germany. Deportations of foreign criminals and dangerous individuals must be particularly accelerated, she stressed. The Social Democrat said that negotiations on the deportation of Syrians and Afghans are continuing. “I hope that we will be successful shortly.” In 2023, a total of around 21,200 asylum seekers were deported. However, more than ten times as many asylum seekers are currently considered to be required to leave the country.