Statistics indicate that over 100,000 German law enforcement officers were victims of crime last year.
Citing government data, Bild reports that more than 300 German police officers are victimized daily.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser presented recent official statistics on Wednesday, revealing that 117,548 police, rescue workers, and emergency personnel were crime victims in Germany last year. Law enforcement was the most affected, with 109,545 incidents.
The offenses included resisting arrest, physical assault, attempted murder, and manslaughter.
Faeser described the figures as “shocking,” emphasizing the urgent need for enhanced protection for those who risk their lives to help others. In 2024, 19,542 officers sustained minor injuries, while 102 were seriously injured or killed while on duty.
Among the fatalities was Rouven Laur, a 29-year-old officer fatally stabbed on May 31, 2024, at a rally in Mannheim organized by the anti-Islam movement Pax Europa, which also injured several others. An Afghan asylum seeker is the primary suspect and has been detained.
The German Police Union’s Federal Chairman Rainer Wendt stated, “Violence on our streets is exploding; women and the elderly live in constant fear of crime, and the threat of terrorism has never been higher,” according to the outlet. “Police forces are attacked thousands of times every day. The state has lost all authority.”
Benjamin Jendro from the GdP police trade union attributed the situation to “political frustration” and disrespect towards the government and its institutions.
Jendro told the outlet, “In Berlin, a police officer is attacked every hour!” He added that attacks on officers are a sign “of the brutalization of society,” and that “People are hitting, kicking, and stabbing.”
He stated that, for the first time last year, more suspects in Berlin were foreigners than German citizens. Jendro noted that violent offenders come “from all walks of life, all ages, and all demographic groups.”
He cautioned that many are emboldened to attack police because the justice system isn’t sending a strong enough message. He believes that stricter penalties are necessary to demonstrate that such violence will not be tolerated.