Police in North Rhine-Westphalia register a growing number of suspects under the age of 21. In total, the police arrested 107,962 children, young people, and young adults as suspected perpetrators in 2023, a 5.3% increase from the previous year, as shown in the police’s youth crime report for North Rhine-Westphalia in 2023, which was reported by the Funke media group’s newspapers (Thursday editions).
The number of solved crimes committed by suspects under the age of 21 increased to nearly 155,000 in 2023, up from around 140,000 the previous year. However, the police’s records show that in 2014 and 2015, the number of registered cases was even higher, at over 159,000.
The majority of the suspected perpetrators are young men, and around 32% of them do not have a German passport.
NRW’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) said to the Funke newspapers, “The numbers are a cause for concern. That more and more young people are getting on the wrong track, we must take very seriously.” It is important to end criminal careers before they take off, Reul emphasized, “What worries me is that the perpetrators are becoming more violent. We often deal with robbery or theft. The number of repeat offenders is also on the rise.”
Theft remains the most common crime that police officers find when young people are involved. At the same time, the report shows that the police solved 3,461 robbery cases committed by people under the age of 21 in 2023, an increase of 24.8% from the previous year. In the case of bodily harm, it is notable that the number of very young perpetrators has increased in recent years. According to the report, the police solved 2,026 cases of bodily harm in 2021, in which the suspected perpetrator was a child. In 2023, there were already 5,780 suspected child perpetrators in solved cases of bodily harm.
Across all crime categories, the client of perpetrators under the age of 14 has increased the most (plus 7.4% compared to the previous year). Police statistics only record cases where officers are informed. A role in rising case numbers could also be played by increased police controls and growing willingness to report crimes by the public.
Experts see the possible growing violence among young people as a consequence of the lockdown and school closures during the Corona pandemic. Moreover, experts point out that cases of violence in society become more visible, for example, through the filming of crimes with smartphones and their upload to the internet. Also, growing poverty in families due to inflation and unemployment could be a factor for rising crime rates among young people.
In addition, the Federal Criminal Police Office registered a record high in violent crimes among adults in 2023. The security authorities are also finding a growing number of attacks, for example, against rescue workers or local politicians.
Reul said, “If we are honest, the rising youth crime is also a mirror of our society. This is not just a problem of the youth, but a wake-up call for all of us. We must pay more attention to each other and stick together.