The number of criminal offenses in Brandenburg rose significantly in the first half of this year, according to police. "We have seen an increase in the four-digit range in the total numbers," said police chief Oliver Stepien in Potsdam on Thursday.

With just over 80,000 cases in the first half of 2022, that's almost ten percent more than in the first half of 2021, but significantly less than the 86,000 cases in the comparable period in 2019, he said.

Key drivers of this, he said, were an increase in fuel fraud, the distribution of child pornography, and residence law violations. In contrast, the number of domestic violence cases declined.

Fewer people died on Brandenburg's roads in the first half of this year than in the first six months of 2021.

The number of accident fatalities continues to decline, said police chief Oliver Stepien on Thursday in Potsdam. In the first half of 2021, there were 56 deaths, he said. "We will end up below 50 this year with a very high probability."

However, the number of accidents continues to rise slightly, but it is about ten percent lower than in the first half of 2019, when there were just over 40,000 cases, the police chief said. The number of accidents under the influence of alcohol and drugs each increased by more than ten percent, he added.

According to preliminary figures, the police recorded 72,304 traffic accidents last year, compared with 71,893 the year before. In the process, 127 people were killed last year, compared to 140 traffic accident fatalities the year before - a decrease of more than nine percent.

Image by Diego Fabian Parra Pabon