North Rhine-Westphalia’s (NRW) plans to record the dual nationality of both suspects and victims in official crime statistics have drawn sharp criticism from the Left party (Die Linke). Clara Bünger, the party’s spokesperson for domestic affairs in the Bundestag, argued the initiative, proposed by NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul, will generate increased social division rather than improve public safety.
Bünger stated that while presented as objective data collection, the proposal effectively categorizes people into “genuine” and “other” Germans, falsely implying a correlation between nationality and criminal activity. She emphasized that crime is linked to socio-economic factors and exclusion, not passport ownership. She suggested that a focus on addressing root causes such as poverty and social inequality would be a more effective approach to enhancing security.
The move by North Rhine-Westphalia represents a unique path within Germany, as it will be the first federal state to specifically detail multiple citizenships within its crime statistics. The intention behind the change is to provide a more detailed overview of the demographic characteristics surrounding criminal activity within the region.