Violent crime drops in northern Germany: 2025 statistics show decline in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein

In 2025, a clear decline in the number of violent crimes was recorded in Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, despite a simultaneous increase in knife attacks in the northern state. This data comes from the latest Police Crime Statistics, presented on March 12, 2026, by representatives of the authorities of both regions. In Schleswig-Holstein, the overall number of crimes fell by 16.2 percent, reaching 178,923 cases. Interior Minister Magdalena Finke pointed to a positive trend in the area of public safety, while also emphasizing the need to monitor new threats.

In the category of violent crimes in Schleswig-Holstein, a decrease of 5.7 percent was recorded, translating to 6,329 incidents over the year. The uniformed services demonstrated high effectiveness in prosecuting perpetrators of these acts, achieving a clearance rate of 80.8 percent. Despite the overall improvement in statistics, the growing number of attacks involving knives is a cause for concern, forcing the local police to adjust preventive strategies. The overall clearance rate for all crime categories in this state was 57.7 percent.

Hamburg's Interior Senator Andy Grote reported a similar trend in the city-state, where the overall number of crimes decreased by 5 percent to a level of 213,596 cases. Violent crime in the metropolitan area fell by 5.4 percent year-on-year. A key achievement of the Hamburg police is the increase in overall operational effectiveness, which allowed for achieving the highest clearance rate in nearly three decades.

The presented data forms the foundation for planning security policy in northern Germany for the coming years. The Police Crime Statistics (PKS) have been published annually in Germany since 1953 by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). This document is based on data on crimes recorded by the police and is used to analyze crime trends and the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies. The report includes information on the number of criminal offenses, suspect profiles, and clearance rates in the individual federal states. The PKS for 2025 indicates a stabilization of the situation in the northern regions, although the increase in attacks involving dangerous weapons remains a flashpoint in public debate.