The probability of becoming a victim of a crime in Germany has fallen to a new low in recent years. According to the police crime statistics, Corona plays a decisive role: "No bar fight without a bar".
In 2021, the number of crimes recorded by the police in Germany was at its lowest level since the turn of the millennium. This emerges from a response from the federal government to a request from the AfD parliamentary group in the Bundestag. The information is based on the annually published police crime statistics (PKS). After 6.3 million crimes in 2000, a peak of 6.6 million in 2004 and a steady decline since 2017, 5.05 million crimes were counted in 2021 - the lowest level in the past 21 years.
There were lows in several sub-areas, such as "violent crime". These include, for example, murder, manslaughter or serious bodily harm. The statistics show around 165,000 registered offenses in the past year. The peak was 218,000 cases in 2007 (2000: 187,000). There were also lows in “street crime”, burglaries and theft in 2021.
"The probability of becoming a victim of a crime in Germany, especially in the area of violent crime, has decreased in recent years. That's a fact," said Oliver Huth, member of the federal board of the Association of German Criminal Investigators (BDK). "We are a safe country. You can basically say that." In connection with the reduced numbers, he also pointed out a corona effect due to restrictions on public life in the past two years. "No bar fight without a bar".
In addition, the crime situation has also shifted as a result of digitization. "Where perpetrators used to rob and steal, there are now many who specialize in offenses that focus on communicating with the victim." Huth mentioned fraud on the Internet or identity theft.
