Violent crime in Germany has surged to record levels in 2024, according to recently released police statistics, with a significant portion attributed to the country's foreign population. The data, highlighted in an article from Remix News on April 8, 2025, shows that murders and other violent crimes have reached unprecedented highs, with foreigners—despite being roughly 15% of the population—accounting for a disproportionate share of these offenses. This escalation has fuelled a growing sense of insecurity among Germans, as evidenced by a poll commissioned by Bild and conducted by Insa on April 3-4, 2025. The poll found that 47% of respondents feel less safe in public spaces compared to five years ago, while 55% believe the police have lost control, a stark contrast to the 39% who still trust in law enforcement's ability to maintain security. Additionally, 38% now express fear of becoming crime victims, up from 28% in 2018, reflecting a steady erosion of public confidence.
The migrant contribution to this violence is a focal point of concern. While exact figures for 2024's migrant-related crime rates are still pending full public release, earlier data and trends provide context. For instance, posts on X from late 2024 and early 2025 cite figures like foreigners committing 59% of sexual crimes at train stations and 50.9% of murders in Berlin, despite their minority status in the population. The 2024 statistics, as reported, confirm this trend, with foreigners driving a "record share" of violent acts, including a noted rise in knife attacks and sexual offenses. This has tangible effects: 30% of Insa poll respondents reported that they, a friend, or a family member had been a crime victim, with higher rates (43%) among younger, urban Left Party voters—groups more likely to encounter diverse populations—compared to older, more rural CDU/CSU supporters.
This climate of fear has left many Germans hesitant to walk their streets, a sentiment echoed in the poll's findings and corroborated by similar surveys, like the ARD Deutschlandtrend from July 2024, where 40% felt unsafe or very unsafe, up from 25% in 2017. The perception that police are overwhelmed amplifies this anxiety, as people see violent incidents, often linked to migrants, go unchecked. High-profile cases, though not detailed in the article, frequently circulate on social media, reinforcing the narrative of a society losing grip on safety due to unchecked immigration.
The data suggests a dark side to diversity: when integration falters, and crime spikes disproportionately among certain groups, it breeds resentment and fear rather than harmony. The German experience in 2024, where diversity correlates with record violence, challenges the rosy ideal, showing that without effective policy and enforcement, diversity can instead deliver division and danger. For many Germans now, the streets feel less like a melting pot and more like a battleground. The pot has melted.
"Crime police statistics were published last week for 2024, which showed that not only violent crime had reached record highs in Germany, but that foreigners account for a record share of that violent crime. However, the question now is how do Germans feel in terms of security?
The new poll, commissioned by Bild and conducted by Insa, shows that Germans feel increasingly unsafe in their country. In fact, a majority of them now believe the police have lost control, which tracks with a steadily declining sense of security over the last years.
Now, 47 percent of respondents said that their sense of security in public spaces and on streets has fallen in the last five years. Only 23 percent say that Germany feels safer, while 27 percent perceive no change.
The poll also shows that 55 percent believe police have lost control, while only 39 percent believe police are able to ensure security in Germany.
Thirty percent of respondents say that they, a friend, or a family member have been a victim of crime.
Notably, voters for the CDU/CSU parties, who tend to be older Germans, had a much lower rate of knowing being victims or knowing someone who was the victim of a crime. For the Left Party, which tends to include a lot more urban and young voters, 43 percent said they were either the victim of a crime or know someone who has been a victim of a crime.
What this could mean is that despite many German urban youths being more exposed to crime, especially due to their increased interactions with foreigners, who also tend to be younger, it is not necessarily driving them towards voting for right-wing parties.
In 2018, 28 percent of respondents said: "I am afraid of becoming a victim of a crime." Now, according to Insa, 38 percent say they are afraid or very afraid of this. Only 23 percent answered yes.
Similar polls have come to similar results, including the ARD Deutschlandtrend poll conducted in July 2024, which found that 40 percent feel unsafe or very unsafe in Germany. In 2017, only 25 percent said this.
For the data, Insa polled 1,004 citizens on April 3 and 4, 2025.
Data released last week reveals that Germans' increasing fear is directly correlated with reality, with murders and violent crime reaching record highs, with the increase due to the incredible amount of violence stemming from the country's foreign population."