Bonn police release 2018 statistics Overall crime declines despite increased number of assaults
BONN · Criminal statistics for Bonn in 2018 show that the number of burglaries has gone down but cases of minor assault have increased. The crime rate last year was as low as in 1996, partly due to a lower number of street crimes.
Bonn and the region have become safer. Last year the Bonn police (responsible for the city of Bonn, Königswinter, Bad Honnef and the Rhein-Sieg district on the left bank of the Rhine) recorded 37,153 crimes - 3,686 fewer than in 2017: "This is the lowest figure since 1996", said police chief Ursula Brohl-Sowa on Wednesday at the presentation of crime statistics for 2018.
The list sounds good: fewer thefts, fewer cases of fraud and less street crime. The number of robberies on streets and in public places fell to 170 cases, this is 75 less than in the previous year. Cases of serious or aggravated assault fell to 469, this is 91 fewer cases than the previous year. In total, police recorded 10,332 street crimes for 2018, compared to 12,221 in 2017. It is the lowest figure for street crimes since 1974.
The police chief also had good news to report on the home burglary front. In 2018, burglars struck 1,371 times, down from the 1,401 home burglaries reported in 2017. Not only that, more than 50 percent of home burglary attempts failed in 2018. Police were also able to resolve more cases, up to around 27 percent compared to about ten percent in the previous year. Norbert Wagner, head of the criminal police, said this is because they were able to solve three major series of crimes.
The first of these was put to a stop in January of 2018 when police arrested a 34-year-old man in Beuel. He had broken into 197 apartments between October 2015 and January 2018. Another series of crimes involved a gang of eight who committed 101 acts of burglary, mainly in Mehlem and Plittersdorf. Five of them were arrested in August. A third culprit, a 53-year-old man, was linked to 21 burglaries; he was traveling in Bonn mainly in January and February of 2018. A total of 122 suspects were identified by police.
More minor assaults and sexual offenses
But it was not all good news. In total, there were 3,697 cases of minor or petty assaults, an increase of 50 from the previous year. Brohl-Sowa attributes this to "an increase in the number of investigations into domestic violence". The figures concerning domestic violence have risen significantly: from 870 to 965.
Although there were fewer rapes, sexual assaults and first degree assaults, the total number of sex offenses recorded by police increased to 437 in 2018 from 419 in 2017. They attribute the increase to more acts of exhibitionism (an increase of 15 cases), and other acts affecting children, mainly involving making pornographic content accessible, for example, vie mobile phones.
Bicycle theft has also increased - from 3061 to 3175 cases. "Almost every third street crime is a bicycle theft," says Wagner. An investigation team will be formed in spring to address this problem.
(Orig. text: Ayla Jacob, Translation: ck)
