Number of criminal offenses rise in Germany: Police

BERLIN (AA) - The number of criminal offenses rose in 2022 for the first time in five years.

As announced by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) together with the Federal Ministry of the Interior at a press conference in Berlin on Thursday, the overall increase amounts to 11.5% compared to the previous year.

According to crime statistics, more than 5.6 million crimes were registered nationwide last year. The clearance rate fell in the same period by 1.4% to 57.3%.

The increase in 2022 was particularly strong for theft offenses (20%) and residential burglaries (21.5%), among others.

In violent crimes, the police noted an increase both compared to the previous year and to the year before the start of the coronavirus pandemic, 2019. In 2022, there were 20% more cases than the previous year and nearly 9% more than in 2019.

In total, officials recorded about 93,000 suspects younger than 14 years old. That is an increase of more than 35% from the previous year. The most common offenses among children and adolescents are theft, assault, and property damage.

Some 92.4% of victims of crimes against sexual self-determination and about 80% of victims of domestic violence are female.

"We need to act to better protect women and remove the fear of assault. We need more security presence on public transport and in crime-ridden places - and more video surveillance," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said.

Holger Munch, the president of the BKA, said: "The crime figures registered for 2022 in Germany can only be compared with those from the two previous years to a limited extent because the coronavirus measures have also had a major impact on crime."