Why there are more politically motivated crimes in Germany

 

BERLIN – The number of politically-motivated crimes committed in Germany rose for the fourth year in a row according to officials on Tuesday, with more offences relating to the war and climate change.

The number of crimes increased by about 7% to 58,916 offences last year, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

One factor in the increase is the Russian war on Ukraine, which was a major concern for many people in Germany in 2022, as was the fear of possible related supply shortages.

The police also saw significantly more offences in connection with climate and environmental protection, according to the statistics presented by Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

The BKA recorded an increase of almost 73% to 1716 offences last year, with most involving damage to property, coercion, threats, violations of the assembly act or trespassing. Hate crime also increased last, with incidents driven by racism or xenophobia, police said.

There were also 340 hate crimes classified as “Germanophobic.”
The number of anti-Semitic hate crimes fell by almost 13%, but the number was still high at 2,641 offences. More than 80% of anti-Semitic crimes were committed by people associated with right-wing groupings, the police said.

Last year, the police recorded a significant increase of almost 40% to 1,865 cases of criminal offences committed by Reich Citizens, who do not recognize the legitimacy of the German state. Here, crimes mostly involved coercion, threats and insults.

The German security services estimate there were around 23,000 people in the Reich Citizens scene nationwide in 2022.

There were 481 crimes based on religious ideology last year, around the same number as the year before. However there is “continued high threat posed by Islamist terrorism within Germany,” the report said.
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