Development after pandemic Crime statistics in Bonn show strong increase in almost all offences

Bonn · The Bonn police have published their crime statistics for 2022. Whether it is violent crime or theft: In almost all areas, the number of cases is rising, even higher than the national trend.

During a large-scale raid in February, Bonn police arrested suspected drug dealers.

During a large-scale raid in February, Bonn police arrested suspected drug dealers.

Foto: Benjamin Westhoff

Bonn's police chief Frank Hoever had said it again and again in public in the past months: After the two pandemic years 2020 and 2021, the propensity to violence is on the rise again. However, the exact figures of the crime statistics for the past year, which were presented on Tuesday at a press conference at the police headquarters in Ramersdorf, were still missing. Almost at the same time, NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU), responsible for the police in the state, presented the North Rhine-Westphalian results.

The tendency is similar here and there. Hoever did not want to "gloss over anything". He spoke of a "strong increase in almost all offences" into which the police break down their cases (including attempted offences). In the catchment area of the Bonn police station, there were conspicuously high increases, to name a few examples, in shoplifting (2814 cases, up 60 per cent), assault (4645 cases, up 28 per cent), pickpocketing (1377 cases, up 39 per cent), robbery (389 cases, up 43 per cent), housebreaking (940 cases, up 15 per cent) and petrol fraud during peak times (677 cases, up 86 per cent). In the city, the increase was higher than in the eight district municipalities for which the police department is responsible, said Hoever. In the city district of Bonn, the police recorded a greater increase than in the other three city districts (see graphic "Crime statistics 2022").

■ Violent crime: This includes murder, manslaughter, rape, sexual assault and robbery offences. Here, the number of cases has increased by 333 to now 1671 compared to 2021. Hoever said that an "increase in aggressiveness" was noticeable, which was not only reflected in the numbers, but also "in the quality". Violence was also increasingly directed against police officers. In this context, Hoever recalled the attacks on police officers and firefighters in Medinghoven on New Year's Eve. The clearance rate for these cases was high at 76.5 per cent.

■ Street crime: These offences have also increased, by 8.3 per cent in percentage terms. Among the total of 11,080 incidents in 2022 that came to the attention of the police, a particularly large number were bicycle thefts and pickpocketing.

Residential burglary: Burglaries have also increased. However, with 940 recorded cases (previous year 819), they are still "below the level before Corona", said Chief Criminal Investigation Officer Achim Spröde. Thefts from basements remain high - a trend that increased with the pandemic. During this time, citizens left their flats and houses less frequently, which made it difficult for thieves and burglars. The police assume that many of these cases are procurement crimes.

■ Child pornography: There seems to be a decline here. Recorded cases of distribution, purchase, possession and production of child pornography were particularly high in 2020 and 2021, with 357 and 234 cases respectively. In 2022, the number of cases was 135, but Hoever and Spröde emphasised that there was no question of an "all-clear". The number of cases fluctuates greatly, which also has to do with the fact that almost all crimes take place in the vastness of the internet. The amount of images involved is often "enormous". When Spröde joined the Bonn police in 2020, officers with 3.5 positions dealt with these offences; now there are 13 positions in the department.

In the entire catchment area of the department - which includes the city of Bonn and eight municipalities in the Rhein-Sieg district - the police registered 44,475 cases last year, compared to 37,105 the previous year, an increase of 1,756 cases (plus 19.9 per cent). This puts the Bonn police authority significantly higher in the increase compared to the state average of 13.7 per cent.

Fare dodgers are recorded again

However, in contrast to NRW, Bonn has for the first time after 2016 recorded the numbers of fare evasion (exclusively fare evaders) again, "in order not to lose sight of these people", as Spröde said. Here, the police registered 2814 cases, an increase of 200 per cent, which is probably also due to stronger controls. If one excludes these cases, the Bonn police headquarters has a case increase of 15 per cent. The clearance rate is therefore 50.5 per cent and has improved somewhat compared to 2021 (47.9 per cent).

Hoever said, "After the pandemic years, we are approaching the time before Corona." He continued, "We cannot be satisfied with that." He announced focus operations "especially at hot spots" to strengthen the citizens' sense of security. Most recently, the police had taken action against drug dealers in February in a concerted large-scale operation and had arrested suspects. During the dark season, Hoever had strategic searches carried out in response to increasing numbers of burglaries.

Original text: Philipp Königs

Translation: Mareike Graepel

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