Since 2015, the number of underage suspects involved in violent crimes has risen from 26,583 to 45,158—according to a response from the interior ministry to a written inquiry submitted by Martin Hess, an MP for the AfD party. The numbers reveal that a growing number of children in Germany are turning to crime, the international V4NA news agency reported.
The data was published by the NIUS news portal.
Children Becoming Criminals: Robbers, Killers, and Rapists
Violent crimes include the following offenses: murder, manslaughter and contract killing, rape, sexual coercion, severe or fatal sexual violence, robbery, extortion, fatal bodily harm, dangerous and serious bodily harm, female genital mutilation, kidnapping for ransom, hostage-taking, and attacks against air and sea traffic.
Except for one brief statistical dip,
the number of violent crimes committed by suspects under 14 has steadily increased since 2015.
Foreign perpetrators of violence are over-represented among young people (aged 14–17) compared to the general population: in 2024, more than one in three juvenile suspects was a non-German national. Figures show:
- In 2015, of the 6,363 youths under 14 suspected of committing violent crimes, about 1,107 were not German (17.4 percent). Today, nearly 5,000 foreign minors are suspected of committing such crimes (35.8 percent).
- Among youth aged 14 to 17, of the 31,383 suspects of violent crime, more than one-third also do not hold a German passport (12,112 suspects, or 38.6 percent).
Schools are Increasingly Becoming Crime Scenes
Since 2024, authorities have also started recording the locations where crimes are committed. Nearly one in five (17.8 percent) of the violent crimes committed by minors now occurs in schools. The statistics register 6,193 violent crimes in school settings. This means that
about 17 violent crimes are committed every day in German schools.
In addition, children and young people frequently commit violent acts near bus stops and train stations (7.3 percent of the crimes). The most common location is public space: 32.4 percent of violent crimes committed by minors take place on roads, in public areas, parks, and green spaces.
AfD Calls for Lowering the Age of Criminal Responsibility to 12
Martin Hess, an MP for AfD, who obtained the statistics from the interior ministry, attributes the doubling of violent crimes by suspects under 14 to "the direct consequence of decades of completely failed migration policy."
He therefore supports lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 12. As he put it,
we must protect our children from the escalation of violence, because our daughters and sons must not become victims of poor political decisions.
Cover photo: Police officer near a school in Germany (Photo: AFP)
