Children and young people under the age of 14 repeatedly become criminals. After the publication of the 2023 crime statistics, the CDU is calling for a rethink.
In view of the significant increase in child and youth crime in Germany, the Union is calling for a renewed debate about lowering the age of criminal responsibility, which is currently 14. The dramatic increase in perpetrators under the age of 14 raises the question of earlier criminal responsibility, said the legal policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Günter Krings, to the “Rheinische Post”. “According to the findings so far, there is much to suggest that lowering the age limit can act as a deterrent, especially in the case of violent acts.”
“In the past, child perpetrators have specifically found out about criminal responsibility rules on the Internet,” the CDU politician continued. He referred to the murder of a girl, presumably by a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old, a year ago in Freudenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia.
Krings calls for study
At the same time, Krings emphasized that Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) must commission a report so that the psychological development level of twelve and 13-year-olds and the circumstances under which children become perpetrators can be examined in a scientifically sound manner.
In addition, in the case of young violent criminals, greater use must be made of the civil law option of “ordering custodial placement by court order.” The states are obliged to provide appropriate facilities. The CDU politician demanded that youth welfare offices should use these opportunities more consistently.
177,000 suspects under 14
According to the 2023 police crime statistics from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) published on Tuesday, the number of crimes in Germany increased significantly last year. There was therefore a significant increase in the number of young suspects. In 2023, a good 104,000 suspicious children under the age of 14 were identified – an increase of 43 percent compared to 2019. For young people aged 14 to adulthood, the number of around 177,000 suspects is 17 percent higher than in 2019.
The number and proportion of foreign suspects also rose particularly sharply. The FDP parliamentary group leader in the Bundestag, Christian Dürr, now accused the federal states of not consistently deporting foreign criminals. “In general, some federal states need to do a better job of consistently using the options for deporting criminals,” he told the newspapers of the Bavaria media group.
