New data from Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) reveals that nearly two-thirds of suspects in sexual assaults at outdoor swimming pools in 2024 were foreign nationals. Of the 367 suspects recorded nationwide, 237 did not hold German citizenship.
Afghan nationals were the most frequently identified foreign suspects, with 61 cases, followed by 50 Syrian nationals. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul responded to the findings in an interview with Focus magazine, urging swift public action when such incidents occur. “An attack in a swimming pool must have immediate consequences,” said the CDU politician. “That means: don’t hesitate and call the police immediately. The perpetrators always try to get away quickly. That must be prevented.”
The share of foreign suspects—around 65 percent—far exceeds their proportion of the overall population, which stood at approximately 16.8 percent at the end of 2024.
The figures come amid wider concerns over rising crime linked to migration. Overall, around 5.8 million criminal offences were registered in 2024, involving roughly 2.2 million suspects. Among them, 913,196 were foreign nationals—making up 41.8 percent of all suspects. In cases of violent crime, the foreign share was even higher, at 43 percent.
Countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey were significantly overrepresented in crime statistics. Algerians, in particular, stood out: despite a resident population of around 25,000 in Germany, 11,143 Algerians were listed as suspects in 2024 police data—equivalent to roughly 44 percent of their total population in the country. This translates to an overrepresentation factor of more than 17.
