Police Crime Statistics: More Than 85,000 Politically Motivated Crimes in 2025

Overall, police recorded a slight increase in politically motivated violent crimes. Of the 4,156 violent crimes recorded, 1,598 are attributed to a right-wing motive, representing an increase of nearly 7.4 percent compared to the previous year.

Significant Increase in Left-Wing Violent Crimes

The increase in left-wing motivated violent crimes is particularly striking: Police registered a rise of nearly 43 percent to 1,087 violent offenses. The number of left-wing violent crimes has thus increased significantly compared to the previous year.

In the case of violent crimes allegedly fueled by foreign ideologies, however, a decline was observed: The number fell by nearly 28 percent to 704 violent offenses. Violent crimes that were allegedly politically motivated but could not be assigned to any of the standard phenomenon areas also developed downward – they decreased by nearly 16 percent to 669 crimes.

Declines in Foreign Ideologies and Unclassifiable Crimes

Religiously motivated violent crimes increased by nearly 13 percent, reaching 98 corresponding offenses. Their share of total politically motivated violent crimes therefore remained relatively small.

The collection of figures on politically motivated crimes is considered a barometer of public sentiment in German society. The 2025 statistics accordingly show: Political violence from both the left-wing and right-wing spectrums has increased compared to the previous year. The temperature in societal debate remains high.

Political Response: Security Initiative

With the announced security initiative, the federal government intends to respond to this development together with the states. Dobrindt described the rising numbers as alarming and announced increased efforts in prevention and prosecution. The specific measures of the initiative are to be coordinated between the federal and state governments in the coming weeks.

The statistics are compiled annually by the Federal Criminal Police Office on behalf of the Federal Ministry of the Interior and record all crimes in which there are indications of a political motivation. The classification into left-wing, right-wing, religious, or foreign ideologies is carried out by the responsible state criminal police offices.