The willingness to use violence against police officers is increasing significantly.

Supposed isolated cases such as the murder of two officials in Kusel and the recent serious attacks on municipal law enforcement officers in Wiesbaden are more of a worrying trend, as the current crime statistics for the state capital show.

With 130 cases of "violence against law enforcement officers" reached a new high last year.

The number of victims in uniform rose from 156 to 215 within a year. In the previous year, 98 cases of violence against officers were registered, and since 2012 this number has always been between 65 and 109.

Oliver Bock

Correspondent for the Rhein-Main-Zeitung for the Rheingau-Taunus district and for Wiesbaden.

  • Follow I follow

Police President Stefan Müller criticizes that the officers are increasingly becoming "lightning rods" for angry or frustrated citizens.

Above all, the “active violence” against officials in action is increasing.

Only in recent years have the police differentiated between "physical violence" by outside observers and the passive or active resistance of those who are to be checked or arrested.

“We need more appreciation and respect again,” demands Müller.

More danger for police officers

While the situation for the police officers is becoming more and more dangerous, the citizens can feel safer.

In the second year of the pandemic, even fewer crimes were committed in the state capital than in the first.

18,882 crimes were recorded, 1.7 percent fewer than in 2020. This is the lowest value since the crime statistics were revised in 1984. However, the clear-up rate fell slightly by 1.8 percentage points to 63.8 percent.

From the point of view of the police headquarters, this means that it is still well above the ten-year average of 61.5 percent and is therefore at a pleasingly high level.

The pandemic, with the consequence of working from home and fewer opportunities to go out, party and travel, meant that the number of burglaries remained at a low level.

The number of successful and aborted burglaries fell from a total of 316 to 203 and thus by almost 36 percent.

This is the lowest number since 1984 and is particularly gratifying for Müller because it has a major impact on citizens' sense of security.

At the same time, the clearance rate rose by 6.5 percentage points and, after a sharp decline last year, returned to the usual level of around 20 percent.

But that also means that only every fifth burglary can be cleared up.

Domestic violence cases, which peaked at 948 offenses in 2020, fell to 837, almost to pre-Corona levels.

The police are still very satisfied with the success of the video surveillance of some public places and streets, which began in March 2020.

Thanks to the high-resolution cameras, 135 suspects were identified last year.

The number of administrative offenses in connection with the corona restrictions and requirements increased from 485 to 633 in the second year of the pandemic.

This was mainly due to a temporarily extended list of prohibitions such as the exit restrictions, violations of which were punished in more than 100 cases.

The number of gatherings that required the presence of the police also increased sharply.

In 2020 there were still 57 meetings of critics of the Corona rules, the number rose to 94 in the following year. There were also 15 counter-demonstrations;

last year there were six.

The police have recorded a sharp increase in the number of political rallies and demonstrations in Wiesbaden since 2019.

The number of crimes related to the pandemic has also increased, including almost 100 cases of fake vaccination certificates.

The Wiesbaden police are still concerned about Warmer Damm as a summer meeting point for young people and young adults, which has developed into a crime hotspot.

Last year, between July and October alone, 23 thefts, 15 violations of the Narcotics Act and 44 cases of bodily harm were registered.

This is a significant increase since 2019, to which the police responded with a more visible presence, more controls and evictions.

In October, any kind of assembly was even forbidden in order to get control of what was happening.

For this summer, police chief Müller is suggesting a city ordinance that could, for example, ban glass bottles, but also a ban on gatherings after midnight.

Müller also hopes that the young people will be able to meet more at the Schlachthof cultural center once the pandemic has subsided.

The police are also registering sharply rising numbers with regard to child pornography and sexual abuse.

The spectacular case of the former youth football coach last year, who is said to have sexually approached the boys entrusted to him since 2007, was an example.

He has been in custody since early December.

A special "Mosaic" commission with 15 employees has now identified ten victims between the ages of ten and 16 and is evaluating 244 data carriers with more than 100 million gigabytes.

Using player lists from the manager's previous clubs, 200 people have been identified who need to be interviewed.

Around 35 have already been questioned.

The investigative complex, it is said, is enormous.

The special commission, which also set up a hotline,