The Federal Criminal Police Office complains that violence against police officers continues to grow. The number of cases among rescue and fire services is also increasing.
According to a current situation report from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), acts of violence against police officers increased again in 2023. The majority of these cases, around 85 percent, are physical attacks and acts of resistance. A total of around 46,200 cases of violence were recorded in 2023, which represents a new high, explained the BKA in Wiesbaden. Compared to the previous year, the number increased by eight percent.
According to investigators, this is a long-term trend. “The number of cases in this phenomenon area has been increasing continuously since 2017,” it said. According to the BKA, around 105,700 police officers were victims of attacks or resistance in 2023. However, the number of cases of dangerous and serious bodily harm fell last year. According to statistics, the number of registered crimes fell by 13 percent to 1,260 cases.
Not only police officers attacked
According to the federal situation report, fire brigade and rescue services are also increasingly exposed to attacks. In 2023, 687 cases were recorded in which at least one victim was a member of the fire department (2022: 650 cases). There were also 2,050 crimes in which at least one victim belonged to another rescue service (2022: 1,920 cases).
“It is frightening the hatred and violence that emergency services have to deal with,” said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). “There is no justification for these crimes and they must have severe criminal consequences.”
Union: Police must not be lightning rods
The deputy federal chairman of the police union, Alexander Poitz, says he is concerned that completely unprovoked attacks have increased dramatically. “Anyone who attacks police officers without any prior official action wants to use violence against them as a symbol of our free society, and that must have very harsh consequences,” he explained. “We are not lightning rods for social frustration and political anger.” Poitz called for nationwide public prosecutors to quickly prosecute attacks against police officers.
Online hate speech against police is increasing
According to the federal situation report, there are more and more postings on social media calling for violence against police forces. “However, this is less about individual threats – the number of cases here is rather small at 55 – but rather about calls for violence against the police as an institution,” the report says. There are daily calls for violence against the police on the Internet. The BKA warned that this could contribute to increasing the risk of attacks on civil servants in the analogue world.
Source: Stern
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