Siegen-Wittgenstein
A high clearance rate and rising case numbers are the results of the police crime statistics for 2023 in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district. The police presented the data at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
One figure in particular drew a positive conclusion. The head of the police department, Klaus Bunse, was delighted with the high clearance rate: "The clearance rate is an important measure of the work of the criminal investigation department. Last year, we were able to further increase the already good clearance rate. With over 64% of cases solved, this is the best clearance rate in NRW."
District Councillor Andreas Müller added: "A good clearance rate means that many crimes have been solved and perpetrators have been identified. It is important for the victims of crime that perpetrators are identified. In this respect, the clearance rate also has an influence on people's sense of security."
However, the clearance rate is also offset by rising case numbers. There was already an increase in the number of total crime cases in 2022. This trend continued last year. A total of 16,222 crimes were recorded in 2023. This represents an increase of around 13% (+ 1,914 crimes).
Despite the increase, the figures are still significantly below the pre-corona years 2014 - 2018 in some cases.
Almost half of the increase is due to an increase in property crime (+ 851 cases, including over 330 shoplifting cases).
In the area of burglary, the number of cases rose by 22 crimes to 591 crimes.
Domestic burglaries account for a large proportion of this. In 2023, there were 174 domestic burglaries in the district. This represents an increase of 45 cases.
In well over half of the cases, the crime remained at the attempted stage (96 attempts). More than 55 percent of the crimes have been solved so far.
The police also managed to solve a series of crimes in the area of Siegen city center, mainly store burglaries. One adolescent and two juvenile offenders have been convicted. The trio received multi-year prison sentences or suspended sentences.
Last year, the district police authority set up an investigation group called "EG Faden". The aim of this investigation group is to use an offender-oriented approach to get specific criminals off the streets.
The investigation group was particularly active in combating drug trafficking and burglary in Siegen's city center. As part of this work, several arrests were also made here.
After last year's increase in violent crime, particular attention was paid to this area of crime.
District Councillor Andreas Müller emphasized at the press conference: "Nationwide, we can see the phenomenon of an increasing willingness to use violence. Conflicts are becoming increasingly violent. This is also reflected in the crime statistics. However, this is a problem for society as a whole. The police are of course trying to counter this development by increasing their presence and taking a conceptual approach."
After a massive increase in violent crime in the post-corona year 2022, there was only a moderate increase of 4% last year to 623 cases.
Despite the increase, the police crime statistics show that street robberies (38 cases, -20%) and the number of knife attacks in which the attack was threatened or carried out (65 attacks, -19 cases) are on the decline.
However, qualified assaults have shifted from closed areas to public areas.
District Councillor Andreas Müller: "We have pushed our measures to the limits and beyond in terms of personnel. This is the case in Siegen city center, but it also applies to the more rural areas, where we are also ensuring the greatest possible presence. However, it is also clear that the police cannot prevent all crimes from happening in the first place."
Department head Klaus Bunse: "We have continued to expand the "Sichere Innenstadt Siegen" project in terms of personnel and have also found new network partners who also support us. And we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that the people of Siegen-Wittgenstein live in a comparatively safe region. The fact that this endeavor is also successful can be seen in the very good crime clearance rate on the one hand, but also in the so-called crime frequency figure (number of crimes per 100,000 inhabitants), which at 5.853 is well below that of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (7,789)."
A comprehensive report on the PKS 2023 is available here on the homepage of the district police authority.
