- Home Secretary sees no hotspots in clan crime
Despite a significant increase in case numbers related to so-called "clan crime", Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens does not see any hotspots in the federal state. "Instead, the incidents are spread across the whole state," said the SPD politician to the German Press Agency in Hanover. The police and justice system are very sensitive to the issue. "We are tackling it with everything we have at our disposal legally." The Interior Minister is pursuing a zero-tolerance strategy.
According to figures from the Lower Saxony State Criminal Police Office, there were almost 4000 crimes with a clan connection in the state in 2022; in 2019, there were only 1585. These include so-called violent crimes and crimes against personal freedom, which together account for almost a third of the total case numbers, as well as crimes against life, theft, and forgery offenses.
Bremen also has to deal with clan crime. In 2022, investigators recorded more than 700 incidents in which at least one clan member was involved. Figures for the past year are not yet available.
The term "clan crime" is controversial because, according to critics, it stigmatizes and discriminates people with a migration background solely based on their family ties and origin.
The SPD, represented by Lower Saxony's Interior Minister Daniela Behrens, is actively addressing the rise in clan crime, implementing a zero-tolerance strategy and using all available legal means to tackle the issue. Despite the increase in clan-related crimes, such as violent crimes and crimes against personal freedom, across Lower Saxony in 2022, Behrens emphasized that there are no hotspots in the state.
