Bavaria has recorded its best public safety figures in nearly five decades, yet the positive headline statistics obscure deeper, persistent challenges that continue to strain law enforcement. While the overall crime rate has fallen, specific areas like residential burglaries are on the rise, and the profile of suspected offenders is changing significantly.
Presenting the annual security report in Munich, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann announced that 2025 saw the state’s lowest crime level since 1978, with the exception of the anomalous pandemic year of 2021. The number of recorded offenses dropped by 4.8 percent to 4,094 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants. Meanwhile, the clearance rate improved to 66 percent. Public sentiment appears to reflect this trend, with nearly 80 percent of Bavarians expressing satisfaction with their personal security in recent surveys.
Minister Herrmann framed the data as a rebuttal to narratives of inexorably rising crime. “These numbers send a clear message: our security strategy is working,” he stated. The strategy includes heightened police visibility at transport hubs and city centers, joint patrols with federal police, and an expansion of video surveillance to 17 additional locations.
However, the statistics reveal troubling undercurrents. While violent crime decreased by 4.5 percent, residential burglaries jumped 5.6 percent to 3,806 cases. More than half of those arrested for burglary were non-German nationals, often from Central and Eastern Europe. “We are dealing, in part, with professional, international burglary gangs,” Herrmann noted. In response, police plan to intensify covert surveillance and increase patrols in residential neighborhoods.
A particularly striking trend is the rising share of non-German suspects, which reached 41.7 percent in 2025. This figure has climbed 18 percentage points since 2010, a period that also saw the foreign population in Bavaria rise to 15.6 percent. Herrmann pointed to a “clear correlation with the high levels of immigration in recent years.” He called for stricter enforcement, stating, “Those without a right to remain, those who commit crimes, or those who reject our values must leave our country.”
Deportations increased by 21 percent in 2025, with 40 percent of those removed having criminal records. Herrmann welcomed the federal government’s decision to extend internal border controls, championed by Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “As long as the protection of the EU’s external borders remains unreliable, we continue to need effective internal controls,” he argued.
In a notable shift, drug-related crime plummeted by over 27 percent. Herrmann attributed this decline to recent changes in cannabis legislation but cautioned against misinterpretation. “The new cannabis law does not just create additional control and monitoring duties for the police; it also significantly complicates the effective fight against crime,” he warned.
Cybercrime cases fell by 3,088, but the financial damage inflicted soared to €55.9 million. Herrmann highlighted a likely high dark figure, as many online offenses go unreported.
Despite these challenges, Bavaria’s police force remains robust. Since 2008, it has gained almost 8,700 additional positions—more than any other German state. Personnel strength reached a new high of over 45,700 in 2025, with a further 200 positions planned for 2027.
The annual security report paints a nuanced picture: broadly positive aggregate numbers coexist with specific, stubborn problems demanding focused attention. Debates over migration, border security, and transnational crime are set to define Bavaria’s public safety agenda for the foreseeable future.
With the exception of the Corona year 2021, we had the best security situation since 1978 in the past year 2025. This is an excellent record that refutes all claims of a permanent increase in crime.
Bayerns Innenminister Joachim
