Violent crime at German railway stations rose by 6% in 2024 and has surged 51% since 2019, according to a new Federal Police report, as reported by mainstream news outlet Euronews.
Officers logged 27,160 violent offences last year—an average of 74 incidents per day across the national rail network. Sexual crimes grew even faster, jumping 19.2% and affecting both major urban hubs and small rural stations. Berlin’s central station recorded the most violent incidents, followed by Dortmund, Hanover, and Cologne.
Although total offences fell 10.1%, serious violent and sexual crimes continued to climb. Federal Police Union deputy chairman Manuel Ostermann warned that marginalised youth, overwhelmed families, drug use, and what he called ‘extremist recruitment’ are driving the rise in violence.
The report shows that 79% of suspects are male, more than half were intoxicated, and 53% were not German citizens. Whereas right-wing political parties, particularly the AdF, have seized on the figures as a demonstration of the downside of immigration, left-wing parties have responded by claiming that the right-wing parties are ‘exploiting’ the problem.
PHOTO: Deutsche Bahn