Crimes recorded by police per 100,000 inhabitants Germany 2013-2023

Since 2016, the number of crimes per 100,000 inhabitants has been on a downward trend and was at its lowest in 2021, although this was likely due to the lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, crime rates have risen again. In 2023, the police recorded roughly 7,000 criminal offenses per 100,000 inhabitants.

Youth criminal suspects

Since the number of crimes is increasing, so is the number of suspects. Concerningly, the number of juvenile suspects has seen a rather significant increase and is currently at its highest rate since 2016. Suspects who are considered in the juvenile category are aged 14 to 17 years old. In Germany, children under the age of 14 cannot be prosecuted and if they commit a crime, then social services usually step in to try and help. In general, punishments for those convicted are much more lenient as it is often considered that due to their age, they may not have been aware of the repercussions of their actions. For example, regardless of the crime committed, no child under the age of 18 can be tried as an adult. In contrast, in England and Wales, there were around 3,600 people aged between 15 and 20 in prison.

Crimes solving rate

With a higher crime rate, it is also important to consider how many crimes are solved. Once a crime is solved, the hope is that the victim can get some type of closure and answers, and also that the perpetrator faces justice for the crimes they committed. In 2023, the police solved around 3.47 million crimes in Germany and for the past three years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of crimes solved. Some cases are, of course, easier to solve than others. Crimes of arson and other fire-hazard-related crimes had a comparably low clearance rate at around 46 percent. In contrast, drug-related offenses were much more frequently solved. Even though 2023 saw the lowest clearance rate in 20 years, it was still at 91 percent.