The Essen police have now published their police crime statistics (PKS). The numbers: alarming. Whether among children, young people or adults: crime against foreigners is increasing rapidly. When it comes to violent crime, even people without a German passport make up the majority of suspects. The number of knife crimes is also increasing dramatically.Crime in the Essen police area continues to increase. According to the latest police statistics, 69,049 crimes were registered in 2023, which corresponds to an increase of 15 percent compared to the previous year in 2022. A total of 25,164 suspects were identified. Of these, 10,294 people did not have a German passport - meaning the number of foreign suspects rose by 19 percent within a year.
This means: The proportion of foreign suspects climbs to around 41 percent. In 2022 it was still 38 percent.
If suspects have another nationality in addition to German, they are statistically assigned to the “German” category.
The
non-German residents in the Essen area make up 16.9 percent of the
total population of 128,335. Non-Germans were disproportionately
represented among the suspects, compared to their share of the
population (18.6 percent).
Increase in crime among foreign children and young people
What is particularly striking is that more and more foreign children and young people are committing crimes in Essen. The number of non-German suspects under the age of 21 rose by 21.4 percent in just one year.
Among children under 14, the number of non-German suspects increases by 18 percent (2023: 430 people) - while the same number among German children only increases by 1 percent (2023: 581 people).
There is also an increase of 15 percent in the number of non-German young people, with 854 people in 2023. Among German young people, on the other hand, there was only an increase of 7 percent last year (1,505 suspected people).
Among adolescents between the ages of 18 and 21, foreign crime increases by 32 percent. 717 non-German suspects were identified in 2023, compared to 544 in the previous year. For adolescent Germans, however, the number only increased from 1,027 to 1,176 (+15 percent).
Increase in crime among foreign children and young people
What is particularly striking is that more and more foreign children and young people are committing crimes in Essen. The number of non-German suspects under the age of 21 rose by 21.4 percent in just one year.
Among children under 14, the number of non-German suspects increases by 18 percent (2023: 430 people) - while the same number among German children only increases by 1 percent (2023: 581 people).
There is also an increase of 15 percent in the number of non-German young people, with 854 people in 2023. Among German young people, on the other hand, there was only an increase of 7 percent last year (1,505 suspected people).
Among adolescents between the ages of 18 and 21, foreign crime increases by 32 percent. 717 non-German suspects were identified in 2023, compared to 544 in the previous year. For adolescent Germans, however, the number only increased from 1,027 to 1,176 (+15 percent).
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| In plain language this means: Crime among foreign children, young people and adolescents is increasing significantly more than among Germans. |
The majority of violent crime comes from foreigners
In
the Essen police area (city of Essen and Mülheim an der Ruhr),
foreigners account for around 55 percent of violent crime. In 2022, the
proportion of non-Germans was still 42 percent.
This means that the majority of all these violent crimes are now committed by non-German suspects (in 2023 these were 1,089 non-German people out of a total of 1,998 suspects).
Violent crime includes, for example, murder, rape, sexual assault and assault, robbery, predatory extortion, dangerous and serious bodily harm, female genital mutilation or extortionate human trafficking.
In the case of sexual harassment, the proportion of non-German perpetrators is 46 percent
But non-German suspects are also represented above average in other crimes:
This means that the majority of all these violent crimes are now committed by non-German suspects (in 2023 these were 1,089 non-German people out of a total of 1,998 suspects).
Violent crime includes, for example, murder, rape, sexual assault and assault, robbery, predatory extortion, dangerous and serious bodily harm, female genital mutilation or extortionate human trafficking.
In the case of sexual harassment, the proportion of non-German perpetrators is 46 percent
But non-German suspects are also represented above average in other crimes:
- In the crime area of pickpocketing, the proportion of foreigners is 85 percent (82 people identified out of a total of 97). In 2022, this number was 77 percent.
- 2,333 people without a German passport were caught shoplifting (a total of 4,407 suspects). The proportion of non-German suspects: 53 percent.
- The proportion of foreign suspects in burglaries is 55 percent - in 2022 this was still 45. Of a total of 287 suspects caught, 158 were not German.
- There is also a high proportion of sexual harassment : 46 percent. Of a total of 160 suspects, 74 were not German.
- In street robberies, the proportion of non-German suspects is 46 percent. A total of 184 people were identified, including 84 who did not have German citizenship.
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| The nationalities of the non-German suspects: Syria, Turkey, Romania, Poland, Serbia, Iraq, Bulgaria, Morocco, Afghanistan and Italy. |
43 percent of the knife perpetrators were foreigners
Knife
crime in the Essen area also continues to rise. A knife was used as a
murder weapon in 311 cases - 38 percent more than in the previous year
(229 cases). Last year there were 255 knife victims. 36 percent of the
crimes were committed in public spaces, such as streets, paths and
squares.
Explosive: Of the 238 suspects identified, 43 percent were non-German. Among the 103 people without a German passport, 42 were immigrants.
The use of the knife is increasing for robbery (2023: 57 crimes, 2022: 39), threats (2023: 92 crimes, 2022: 77) and bodily harm (2023: 95 crimes, 2022: 66).
Explosive: Of the 238 suspects identified, 43 percent were non-German. Among the 103 people without a German passport, 42 were immigrants.
The use of the knife is increasing for robbery (2023: 57 crimes, 2022: 39), threats (2023: 92 crimes, 2022: 77) and bodily harm (2023: 95 crimes, 2022: 66).
Source: NIUS
