Figures from Austria’s Ministry of the Interior have revealed that during 2022—a year that saw more than 108,000 asylum applications filed, representing the largest year-over-year percentage increase of any EU member state—the number of crimes committed at asylum facilities increased significantly.
The data, released by the ministry following a parliamentary request from FPÖ National Councilor Hannes Amesbauer (FPÖ), revealed that a total of 1,183 criminal offenses were recorded at asylum centers across Austria, representing an uptick of 57.5% compared to the previous year, the Vienna-based news portal Exxpress reports.
Among the 1,183 criminal cases that were recorded by authorities last year—which amounts to more than three offenses committed per day—were crimes like rape, sexual abuse of children, physical harm, murder, document forgery, fraud, and theft. According to the interior ministry, perpetrators of the recorded crimes included 933 men and 78 women, with many of the offenders being young.
The ministry, in its report, notes that four migrants who carried out crimes at asylum centers last year were not even ten years old. Furthermore, an additional five offenders were between 10 and 14 years old, while 156 offenders were between 14 and 18 years old. The age cohort that committed the most offenses (387) were individuals between 25 and 40 years old.
Austria, with its total population of just under nine million, witnessed the number of asylum applications filed triple between 2021 and 2022, jumping from 39,930 to 108,490, as The European Conservative previously reported.
The ruling ÖVP-Green coalition, which claims to be tough on mass immigration, has, perhaps as a result of their failure to control the massive influx of foreigners, seen its popular support drop precipitously over the past year. Meanwhile the conservative, anti-globalist Freedom Party (FPÖ)–which has long called for stricter border measures, increased deportations of those residing in the country illegally, and tougher asylum policies—is now, according to the latest polls, the most popular party.
