German citizens are feeling less and less secure in their country, and mass immigration appears to play a tremendous role in this sea trend. New survey results, while bad news for Germany, also show why the Alternative for Germany (AfD) may only continue to grow in popularity.
According to the latest ARD “Deutschlandtrend” survey, cited by t.online, only 50 percent of respondents feel very or rather safe in Germany, a drop of 5 percentage points compared to February.
Almost as many (48 percent) perceive public spaces as rather or very unsafe.
In 2017, 75 percent of Germans felt safe.
Women feel less secure in general than men, with 45 percent indicating “rather safe” compared to 56 percent of men responding. Meanwhile, 53 percent of German women perceive public spaces as rather or very unsafe.
A 2022 study by the Federal Criminal Police Office noted by t.online confirms the difference: Only 33 percent of women felt safe on public transport at night, and 61 percent in their own neighborhood at night without an escort, while this figure for men was 83 percent.
Supporters of the anti-immigration AfD party also feel significantly less safe on German streets at 79 percent, while Green Party voters feel the most secure at 81 percent, followed by Left Party voters at 72 percent and SPD voters at 64 percent.
The AfD could benefit
In the context of immigration and security, the ARD survey also looked at “views on the AfD.”
While the AfD is the most popular party in Germany currently, it still only polls at between 25 and 27 percent, well short of a majority. However, in terms of the actual policies of the AfD, there appears to be far broader voter potential for the AfD.
🇩🇪 For every well-integrated Middle Eastern migrant, you have so many of these guys causing terror across Europe.
Knife crime has skyrocketed in Germany, with nearly 30,000 knife-related crimes taking place last year.
Video shot near German supermarket Kaufland. pic.twitter.com/maYEL9vYdA
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) April 17, 2025The data shows that 47 percent agree with the statement: “I think it’s good that the AfD wants to limit the influx of foreigners and refugees more than other parties.” This represents a two-point jump compared to May 2025. Meanwhile, 47 percent still reject this statement.
Besides immigration, the AfD paints itself as a tough-on-crime party. In this category too, the AfD shows even broader support.
The ARD “Deutschlandtrend” poll asked if the AfD has better understood that many Germans no longer feel safe, with a narrow majority, 52 percent, affirming this, and 42 percent disagreeing.
🇩🇪🎄 German police are now confiscating pocket knives from elderly women at Christmas markets.
Exploding knife crime in Germany, which the police openly says is tied to mass immigration, has led to a security state at German Christmas markets. pic.twitter.com/nRTQRIOr2d
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 17, 2024While approximately half of Germany still sees the situation differently from the AfD, the other half could potentially be pushed further into the AfD’s voting camp.
The same ARD survey also had bad news for the ruling coalition. It found that satisfaction with the black-red federal government improved only slightly by two percentage points to 22 percent. However, an incredible 76 percent of Germans are dissatisfied with the government. For the ruling chancellor, Friedrich Merz, 26 percent are satisfied with him and 71 percent are not.
Crime is rising
Germans’ feeling of insecurity is not completely irrational. As Remix News has reported, violent crimes hit record levels in a number of categories in 2024, with foreigners reaching a record share of those who were responsible for such crimes. In addition, new data shows that there have been nearly half a million German victims of crime at the hands of foreign criminals since 2016.
According to police crime statistics for 2024, the total number of offenses decreased by 1.7 percent compared to the previous year. However, crimes against personal liberty – such as threats, stalking, or coercion – increased by 5.3 percent compared to 2023. Meanwhile, sexualized violence rose by 9.3 percent to over 13,000 registered cases.
NEW: 🇩🇪🔪 Knife crime in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia soared last year by 28 percent, and non-Germans were responsible for more than half the offenses.
Syrians, Turks, and Iraqis were the worst foreign offenders.
Among suspects classified as "German" through… pic.twitter.com/pqZimUBPjF
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) May 8, 2025In terms of specific fears, 52 percent fear theft, 48 percent anticipate insults or harassment, and some 33 percent sometimes worry about becoming victims of a terrorist attack.
Regarding the fear of being sexually harassed, 38 percent of women fear this, compared to only 8 percent of men.
Despite the relatively low percentage of respondents fearing a terrorist attack, Germany has been plagued by both executed and unexecuted attacks, with the most recent attempt foiled just earlier this month. Court proceedings for the most serious threats to state security are almost all cases involving Islamic terrorism, reaching 99 percent.
Following the arrest of a 22-year-old Syrian man in Berlin who was allegedly planning a terrorist attack, Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt issued a stark warning: “The arrest in Berlin shows once again that the threat level in Germany from terrorism, while abstract, is nevertheless high. The activities of the Syrian man, who has been in Germany since 2023, which indicate preparations for an attack, were recognized in time,” said the CSU politician.
Similar surveys also found similar results. For example, the Security Trend survey from this year found that 81 percent of Germans said there were too many refugees in the country at the same time that feelings of safety hit a record low, reaching 60 percent of Germans.
However, the question also addresses whether Germans believe there are also too many foreigners. The results clearly show that Germans are not simply fed up with illegal migrants, but have also had enough of the massive number of foreigners coming to the country overall. A strong majority, 58 percent, say there are too many foreigners in Germany, with 55 percent of West Germans saying this and 74 percent of East Germans.
