Federal police record 170 per cent more violent crimes at Berlin Central Station

Since 2019, violent, sexual and property offences have increased by over 170 percent at Berlin Central Station. This is according to new figures from the Federal Police. In the case of property and violent offences, the proportion of foreign offenders predominates in almost every year.

Source: Selma Green, Apollo News, 23 Aug 2024

Violent, sexual and property offences have more than doubled at Berlin Central Station in recent years – this is revealed by new data from the Federal Police. In response to an enquiry by the AfD’s deputy spokesperson for domestic policy, Martin Hess, the Federal Ministry of the Interior published the figures on crime trends at Berlin Central Station on Monday.

The ministry’s document shows that the number of violent offences increased by 170 percent between 2019 and 2023 (2019: 228 offences, 2023: 620). In addition, the police recorded an increase of around 102 per cent in sexual offences (2019: 11 offences, 2023: 23) and 125 per cent in weapons offences (2019: 8 offences, 2023: 18). This is closely followed by narcotics offences, which increased by around 89% between 2019 and 2023 (2019: 89 offences, 2023: 168). There was also an increase of around 65% in property offences (2019: 838 offences, 2023: 1,382).

The origin of the offenders can also be seen in the document. According to calculations by Apollo News , the absolute figures show that violent offences committed by foreign perpetrators increased by 209 per cent between 2019 and 2023 (2019: 98 perpetrators, 2023: 303). In addition, property offences increased by 91 per cent (2019: 290 perpetrators, 2023: 554), sexual offences by 71 per cent (2019: 7 perpetrators, 2023: 12) and weapons offences by 60 per cent (2019: 5 perpetrators, 2023: 8) by non-German perpetrators. In almost every year, the proportion of foreign offenders outweighs German offenders in violent and property offences. Only in 2023 was it recorded that 303 of the offenders were non-German and 318 were German.

AfD spokesperson Martin Hess speaks of a “scandal that railway stations and trains have degenerated into crime hotspots”. “The citizens of our country have a right to be protected from criminals by the state in the best possible way,” he explains. The Federal Police have recorded an increase in violent offences at German train stations in recent years, not just at Berlin Central Station. In 2023, the police registered 25,640 violent offences. This represents an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year and around 42 per cent on 2019, according to a report by WDR.