Compared to 2018, the number of crimes against homeless people has increased dramatically. Against another group of those in particular need of protection, it remains at a consistently high level.
Violence against homeless people has increased dramatically in the past five years. While the police recorded 1,560 cases of crimes against victims with the “victim characteristic of homelessness” in Germany in 2018, there were 2,122 cases in 2023. This emerges from a response from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to a request from the left-wing Bundestag member Susanne Hennig-Wellsow star is present.
The number of crimes against people with mental or physical disabilities has also increased slightly. In 2018 there were 5,120 cases, in 2023 the number was 5,402. One of the most sensational cases occurred in April 2021 in a residential home for people with intellectual disabilities in Potsdam. A nurse killed four residents; Another resident only survived thanks to emergency surgery.
In total, over 40,000 crimes have been committed against homeless and disabled people in the past five years. “When the most vulnerable become victims of violence, looking away is not an option,” Hennig-Wellsow told the star. She assumes that the official statistics capture “only a fraction of reality” and called on the government to act: “We finally need a national violence protection strategy for those who need our protection and have a right to respect.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
