1,092 crimes were recorded at Frankfurt Central Station in just the first six months of 2024. That’s equivalent to about six crimes per day.
The figures, quoted by German news media company Apollo, were released by the federal government in response to a request from the AfD parliamentary group. They show that a very high proportion of the criminal suspects are foreign nationals.
A report produced this month by the Bundestag reveals that, for example, non-Germans were involved in 123 cases of violent crime at the station in the first half of this year. By comparison, German citizens were involved in 84 cases. In five cases, the nationality of the suspect was “unclear.” It was “unknown” in 57 others.
Figures for other types of crime tell the same story:
- Property crimes: 70 German suspects, 203 foreign suspects.
- Criminal damage to property: 10 German suspects, 19 foreign suspects.
- Sexual offences: Four German suspects, 17 foreign suspects.
- Drug offences: 21 German suspects, 63 foreign suspects.
The figures show there has been one more German (two) than non-German (one) suspect for weapons offences, and one other suspect whose nationality was “unknown.”
Apollo notes that more broadly, since 2019, cases of violent and sexual crimes at Frankfurt Central Station have increased “sharply.” In one recent shocking case, a 54-year-old gunman shot and killed a 27-year-old apparently because of a long-standing feud between two Turkish families. Both the alleged shooter and the victim, who died at the scene, are Turkish citizens.
Violence at the Brussels North and Midi stations is also said to be driving foreign investors away from the city. Business figures at a real estate summit last week called for “urgent intervention” from officials in order to attract more investment to the Belgian capital, The Brussels Times reported. They added that unless change is seen to be taking place, business leaders will continue to be “reluctant” to locate in the city—or, at the very least, anywhere near these stations.
