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.
PM Viktor Orbán:
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) June 25, 2024"Now, Germany is no longer Germany. It’s a colorful, changed multicultural world, where migrants coming in are no longer guests in this country… They are not here as guests of the native Germans, but in their own right. It is now their country, too." pic.twitter.com/yjjArFvYNA
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.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 19, 2024
"I will beat you till you die… Look at your pig skin."
A migrant makes sexist, racist, and anti-LGBT remarks against young women in the Berlin train system near the Tempelhof stop. pic.twitter.com/LuJZCcrTsT
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.
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) November 18, 2024
Germany's Green Party is calling for "women-only" train cars in Berlin due to soaring sexual assaults.
In February, Iranian migrant Moshen K. raped a 63-year-old woman on the U3 train line, sparking outrage.
Since 2013, sexual violence crimes have jumped 260% in Berlin. pic.twitter.com/Xunuj84hpu
