For the first time since 2021, the number of violent crimes in Germany saw a slight dip in 2025, decreasing by 2.3 percent, according to the Police Criminal Statistics for 2025, which was presented in Berlin on Monday.
Related trends include a decrease in the number of suspects by 2.6 percent. This decline was particularly noticeable among young male suspects (-7.4 percent) and foreign suspects (-7.2 percent). Conversely, the number of child suspects increased by 3.3 percent. Despite the decline in general violent crime figures, foreign suspects remain significantly overrepresented in this category, accounting for 42.9 percent of cases.
Overall, the police recorded approximately 5.5 million criminal incidents nationwide in 2025, marking a 5.6 percent reduction from the previous year. The total number of suspects also fell by 5.9 percent, reaching about 2.05 million. The impact of the partial legalization of cannabis from 2024 is apparent in these statistics; however, even after excluding cannabis-related offenses, a reduction of 4.7 percent is still evident.
In total, around 3.2 million cases were successfully cleared. This results in a clearance rate of 57.9 percent, which is nearly identical to previous years (58.0 percent in 2024).
Findings from the “Safety and Crime in Germany 2024” (SKiD) victim survey, released concurrently by the BKA, indicate that young people are disproportionately affected by violent crimes, and this trend is increasing. In the current survey, 8.5 percent of youths aged 16 and 17 were victims of bodily harm, a sharp rise of 5.4 percentage points compared to the 2020 survey, more than doubling the initial rate of 3.1 percent.
The figures for sexual offenses recorded in the PKS for 2025 remain high. Notably, there was an increase of 9.0 percent in rape cases, bringing the total since 2018 to a rise of about 72 percent. The perpetrators are mostly known to the victims, such as friends, acquaintances, or former partners, and are predominantly male (98.6 percent). The proportion of non-German suspects was 38.5 percent, consistent with the previous year. Regarding rape, the proportion of foreign victims was 22.3 percent.
The SKiD survey results show that women are significantly more affected by sexual crimes than men overall, with young adults aged 18 to 24 being particularly vulnerable. According to the study, the “dark figure”-the unreported incidents-remains large: the reporting rate for sexual offenses was only 6.2 percent for sexual abuse and rape in 2023, and only 2.6 percent for physical sexual harassment.
While crimes related to child pornography content decreased by 2.7 percent to 41,677 cases, they remain at a high level. Conversely, crimes involving youth pornography content rose by 19.9 percent to 11,515 cases. Many instances involve “self-shot” amateur productions. This increase may be attributed not only to greater dissemination through social media channels but also to increased reporting willingness due to heightened media attention and societal awareness.
The number of knife attacks remained roughly stable compared to the previous year (an increase of 0.8 percent to 29,243 cases). However, threatening acts with a knife rose by 9.5 percent, totaling 13,748 cases. Cases of violence involving firearms, such as robbery or severe bodily harm, hit a high since 2016, increasing by 9.7 percent to 3,166 cases; specifically, there was a 13.4 percent rise in shootings (1,371 cases), reaching a high since 2009.
The overall decline in drug offenses caused by the partial legalization of cannabis (-27.7 percent) should not mask the reality. Alongside drug offenses involving cocaine, including crack (39,414 cases, a +1.9 percent rise), there were increases in offenses involving novel psychoactive substances by 25.5 percent (to 5,338 cases, up from 4,255 in 2024) and in methamphetamine by 3.0 percent (to 11,398 cases, up from 11,070 in 2024). Consequently, drug crime remains a pressing issue in Germany.
While types of crimes registered domestically showed decreases for fraud (-8.4 percent) and cybercrime (-4.1 percent), offenses originating from abroad significantly increased (fraud: +7.0 percent; cybercrime: +3.0 percent). In the field of fraud, the number of domestic and foreign incidents, as well as the total damage amount, are becoming more comparable (foreign: 2.3 billion euros, up +65.1 percent; domestic: 2.7 billion euros, down -6.7 percent). In cybercrime, the number of foreign cases now exceeds those originating domestically.
According to the SKiD study’s “dark figure” analysis, one in five people has been victimized by cybercrimes. Data misuse and online fraud involving goods and services are the most common offenses, both seeing a significant increase compared to the 2020 survey. Growing concern is evident, with over half the population now fearing they might become victims of internet fraud.
Regarding the sense of security, the SKiD study found that overall public feeling is generally high. However, there are specific concerns: feeling unsafe at night in public transport (ÖPNV) remains a concern for about 45 percent of people. Lower levels of perceived security were reported at train stations (27.0 percent), on public streets, paths, and squares (40.1 percent), and in parks (22.8 percent).