Germany is grappling with a troubling crime wave, and migrants are at the center of it. Despite making up just 15% of the population, they account for nearly half of the country’s 10,362 repeat offenders. Some of these offenders are shockingly young—as little as 8 years old.
A recent BILD investigation lays bare the numbers. Hesse, home to Frankfurt, leads with 2,112 chronic offenders. While half are German, Algerians (145) and Moroccans (125) dominate the foreign-born group, including 10 children.
The problem isn’t confined to Hesse. North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, reports 1,703 habitual criminals, with 874 being foreign nationals—including 110 Syrians and 66 Moroccans. Interestingly, 198 of these offenders hold dual citizenship, and in most states, such individuals are classified as German, suggesting that the real number of foreign-born offenders could be even higher.
Here’s how the crisis unfolds across Germany:
- Schleswig-Holstein: 794 repeat offenders, 68% are German citizens; 359 under 21, including 13 children
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: 421 repeat offenders, 64 are minors
- Rhineland-Palatinate: 159 repeat offenders, with 64 being non-German
- Saxony: 1,421 foreign suspects, 116 aged 14-18, 14 under 14
- Bavaria: 700 chronic offenders under 20
- Bremen: 64 repeat offenders
- Hamburg: 224 repeat offenders, 82 under 18, 14 under 14, with 85 foreign-born
Some states, including Baden-Württemberg, refused to release crime data, citing “personal rights,” while others failed to respond.
Sex Crimes, Violent Attacks, and Billions in Damages
The numbers correlate with a broader surge in migrant-linked crime. A NIUS report revealed that 59% of sexual crimes at German train stations were committed by migrants. More broadly, non-Germans were responsible for 46% of all violent crime in 2023—a sharp rise from 28% in 2013.
And the financial burden? Staggering. A report from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office found that foreign criminal gangs cost taxpayers €2.7 billion in 2023—triple the decade-long average and double the losses from 2022.
With crime spiraling, the data is clear: Germany’s justice system is struggling to keep repeat offenders—especially migrants—off the streets. As political pressure mounts, calls for tougher enforcement and deportations are growing louder. But whether real change is on the horizon? That remains to be seen.
