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CRIME

Which German train stations have the highest crime rates?

More than 23,000 crimes were committed at German train stations and on trains in 2022—and some of the higher rates were recorded outside the country’s largest cities.

Hamburg Central Station
Intercity trains wait on the platform at Hamburg Central Station. The station was recently revealed as the most violent train station in the country. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Bodo Marks

Whether it was gun crime, drug offences, sexual assaults, or property crimes—all were committed at German train stations—or on trains—last year.

In response to an enquiry from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary group, the federal government revealed which German train stations are the most crime-ridden.

Hamburg’s central station was the worst-affected station when it came to violent crime, followed by Hanover and then Nuremberg.

Dortmund and Düsseldorf stations, meanwhile, saw the highest rates of gun and drug crimes.

Cologne’s main station had the highest rate of sexual offences.

Nuremberg’s central station’s high level of violent crime is of particular note—as it doesn’t even rank in the country’s top ten when it comes to passenger traffic, leaving a particularly high crime rate relative to its size.

READ ALSO: Which criminal offences could get you bared from German citizenship?

As for the other two most violent train stations, Hamburg’s central station is the busiest in the country—at over half a million passengers per day. Hanover takes the seventh spot for passengers—making it also a rather crime-ridden station relative to its traffic numbers.

Following Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin’s central stations account for the most passenger traffic in the country. None of those three, however, see similarly high crime rates in any category.

The federal government also revealed that over 500 police officers were injured while responding to crimes at train stations in 2022. A total of 68 were injured so badly they weren’t able to work.

The federal government plans to up the number of surveillance cameras in German train stations to 11,000 by the end of 2024. That’s up from 9,000 currently.

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CRIME

How politically motivated crimes are rising in Germany

Crimes with political motivations have risen in Germany according to police data, with cases of right-wing extremism making up the majority of crimes reported last year.

How politically motivated crimes are rising in Germany

Germany’s Criminal Police Office (BKA) registered 60,028 politically motivated crimes in 2023, the highest number recorded since records of this statistic began in 2001.

That’s almost two percent more politically motivated crimes than were recorded the previous year. But of those, 3,561 cases involved violence, which is approximately 12 percent less compared to 2022.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) presented the statistics this week. “We are seeing a new high in crimes directed against our open and free society,” she said according to Tagesschau. “We must show unequivocally that the rule of law does not accept this violence.”

Majority of political crimes classified as right-wing extremism 

With a total of 28,945 crimes, right-wing extremist-motivated cases made up the largest portion of political crimes in 2023 – up 23 percent from the year before.

There were 714 people recorded as being injured by right-wing extremist violence.

The President of the BKA, Holger Münch has previously emphasised that right-wing extremism remains the greatest threat to free democratic basic order in Germany.  

Although significantly less were recorded, left-wing extremist attacks also increased last year to 7,777 reported incidents.

Religiously motivated crimes increased by the biggest percent

Crimes registered as religiously motivated increased by the biggest proportion, up 203 percent from the previous year according to the BKA figures – to a total of 1,458.

The number of cases related to a foreign ideology also rose.

Anti-Semitic crimes also reached a new high last year with 5,164 offences being recorded (148 of these being acts of violence).

Conflict in the Middle East has certainly had an effect on domestic crime as well, with 4,369 crimes recorded as being connected. That figure is 70 times higher than the previous year, with more than half of them recorded after Hamas’ attack on October 7th. Of those, 1,927 were considered anti-Semitic by the BKA.

Public servants and asylum-seekers face increasing risk

The number of crimes against politicians and political volunteers also increased by 29 percent last year.

In recent weeks, a worrisome spike in both right- and left-wing attacks on politicians has been observed across Germany.

READ ALSO: Why are German politicians facing increasing attacks?

In her comments, Interior Minister Faeser warned that “a climate of violence” is being brought, especially by right-wing fringe groups.

Also motivated by right-wing ideologies were an increase in the number of attacks on asylum-seekers and refugees. Last year saw a significant increase in these attacks including 321 violent acts and 179 crimes against asylum accommodations registered.

Crimes targeting the “state” fell last year by 28 percent compared with 2022.

READ ALSO: Why experts say Germany’s rising crime rate is misleading

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