- - Not executing warrants - Murderer on the loose
Thousands of convicted criminals are at large in Berlin because warrants are not enforced. As of July 1st, 59 of these are murderers, and 66 are convicted of manslaughter. This information comes from the response of the Berlin Senate's Justice Administration to a parliamentary inquiry by Left Party representative Sebastian Schlüsselburg. In total, there are 8,581 outstanding warrants, compared to 7,653 at the same time last year.
Additionally, the Berlin police is searching for nearly 1,767 suspects who should be taken into custody. 57 of them are suspected of murder and should be awaiting trial in prison. Last year, the number was similar (1,761).
Legal expert Sebastian Schlüsselburg described this development as "alarming" and stated, "This is not good news for the rule of law." He finds it particularly inexplicable that so many convicted criminals, including those convicted of murder or manslaughter, are still at large. He believes Berlin's Justice Senator Felor Badenberg (CDU) should explain this.
Until a verdict is final, it's possible that criminals may not immediately go to prison. CDU legal expert Sven Rissmann explained to "B.Z." that convicted criminals can, for example, go home due to illness or if pretrial detention has been excessive. In such cases, they receive a written summons to report to prison. Only in cases of high-risk criminals are special task forces deployed, not always.
The Senate's Justice Administration refers to figures from the police's search system. As of the reference date, there were 5,773 warrants (2023: 5,266) for convicted criminals that had been outstanding for more than six months. In 1,358 cases (2023: 1,417), suspects are being sought who should be taken into custody.
The high number of murderers and manslaughter convicts still at large contributes to the alarming state of crime in Berlin. Despite the efforts of the police, there are still 57 individuals suspected of murder who have yet to be apprehended.
