Official criminal statistics indicate a higher share of crimes committed by foreigners in Germany compared to citizens of the country. However, experts strongly advise against rushing to conclusions, emphasizing that such data can be quite misleading. DW delves into the essence of this complex issue.
Suzanne Pretor is an outstanding sociologist, psychologist, and legal scholar, holding a professorship at the Lower Saxony Police Academy. Her multifaceted approach to studying crime is vividly reflected in each of her analyses and evaluations of this phenomenon. This is why Pretor treats official police statistics regarding crime in Germany with great caution.
The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) will soon present data from the past year, which will be the subject of close scrutiny.
Foreigners Among Suspects: A Look at the Statistics
In recent years, the share of suspects of foreign origin in Germany has reached 35.4% for crimes such as theft, burglary, and violent acts. This figure is more than double the percentage of foreigners in the overall population of the country. Nevertheless, Professor Pretor is convinced that police statistics contain many data points that are incorrectly compared to each other, as they cover completely different aspects.
At a press conference organized by the Berlin media service "Integration," Pretor particularly emphasized the need to consider the age and gender of suspects. These two aspects have a colossal impact on crime rates, absolutely independent of nationality or origin. Young men have always shown a disproportionately high share among suspects, making these factors critically important for a correct analysis of criminal statistics.
Demography and Crime: The Role of Age and Gender
"Foreigners in Germany are generally significantly younger than native Germans," notes the professor. "Young men, not only in Germany but worldwide, make up the part of the population that is most frequently mentioned in crime reports." The "willingness of citizens to report to the police" also plays an important role. "There is evidence that people perceived as foreigners are more likely to become the subject of such reports," adds Pretor. A study by the Lower Saxony Criminological Institute in 2024 showed that non-Germans were reported almost three times more often than Germans.
"Hidden Crime Studies": Uncovering the Full Picture
Suzanne Pretor places great hopes on so-called criminological "hidden area studies" or "dark field studies" for a deeper understanding of the causes and conditions of crime. These studies aim to identify offenses that have not been officially recorded by the police. In such projects, a broad sample of people is surveyed about their personal experiences with various crimes. This method allows for the collection of valuable additional data on offenses for which no reports have been made and which remain outside official statistics.
"Here, one can ask about the migration background of the potential suspect, as well as the reasons for what happened. And there is no problem in that only the part of crime that has become officially known is visible," explains Pretor the essence of this important method. The main advantage of such surveys, which cover both victims and offenders, lies in the possibility of a more detailed and differentiated approach to analyzing the problem of crime.
Where Does Crime Originate?
According to Pretor, qualitative studies on hidden crime among youth have already been conducted. "These data clearly demonstrate that the living conditions of migrants and native Germans differ significantly," she emphasizes. Among such conditions can be parental violence, low levels of education, the influence of a criminal environment, and an excessive emphasis on masculinity. A more thorough analysis of the origins of suspects allows for a deeper understanding of the multifaceted nature of the problem of crime among foreigners in Germany.
In 2024, about 13% of foreign criminals in Germany were citizens of Ukraine. When compared to the share of Ukrainians among all refugees in Germany, which reaches 35.7%, it becomes clear that their crime rate is noticeably lower than that of representatives from other countries.
North Africa: Why So Many Suspects?
The situation with immigrants from Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Georgia looks completely different. Among suspects, their share is about three percent, while in the total number of registered refugees in Germany, they account for less than one percent. The question arises: does this mean that people from North Africa and Georgia are more prone to committing crimes compared to Ukrainians or Germans?
Exploring the underlying factors behind the dry figures again helps find an answer to this complex question. The relatively low share of suspects from Ukraine is explained by the demographic composition: 63% of adult Ukrainian refugees in Germany are women. Meanwhile, among asylum seekers from North African countries, men make up between 74% and 82%. It is important to remember that the share of men in overall crime statistics is consistently higher than that of women, regardless of citizenship and country.
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