Crime in Saxony is on the rise: Clear-up rate increases

According to Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU), Saxony remains a safe federal state despite an increase in crime figures. The general crime rate remains low in a multi-year comparison, he said on Tuesday at the presentation of the crime statistics for 2023. At the same time, the overall crime clearance rate has climbed to 60.9 percent, the highest level in the past ten years. A total of 260,800 crimes were registered in the area of general crime last year, 5.1% more than in the previous year. This figure does not include cases involving foreign nationals, such as illegal entry.

The trend varied in individual areas. Violent crime saw the strongest increase in the past ten years at 16.2 percent. In total, there were 9151 cases. The clearance rate here was 79.2 percent. Most of the cases involved dangerous and grievous bodily harm. At the same time, the police registered 27 cases of murder, manslaughter and homicide on demand (2022: 26).

The authorities have recorded a significant increase in attacks on emergency services and law enforcement officers and emergency services in recent years: there were 2362 cases in 2023, compared to 1714 in 2019.

The authorities recorded a year-on-year increase in illegal entry (up 84.7%) and shoplifting (21.3%). Falling case numbers were recorded for violations of the Assembly Act (-45.6 percent), theft of motor vehicles (-15.7 percent) and rape (-9.7 percent). The number of vehicle thefts has halved in the past ten years. In 2023, one in three cases was solved. Immigrants were held responsible for 16,454 crimes other than illegal entry; almost half of these (7,457) were committed by so-called prolific offenders.

The number of drug-related crimes fell by 519 cases to 12,834. However, Schuster expects an increase in the future: "The legalization of cannabis is window dressing. Even if we no longer count drugs in certain quantities as a criminal offense, we will feel the consequences of increased consumption, for example in road traffic."

In the case of politically motivated crimes, the police reported a 9.2% drop in the number of cases. Nevertheless, the 5745 cases were the second-highest figure in recent years. Offenders from the right-wing scene were held responsible for almost half of the cases (2704).

In the area of so-called hate crime, 199 cases were recorded, almost a quarter more than in the previous year. The authorities also recorded 302 crimes against public officials and 77 against elected officials, 32 more than in the previous year.