More registered violence against police officers, more crimes on the Internet – yet the number of recorded crimes in Lower Franconia is at an all-time low. And more than 72 percent of it could have been cleared up, says Police President Gerhard Kallert, that is also a record. On Monday, the President of the Lower Franconia Police Headquarters presented the 2020 security report together with Director of Criminal Investigations Holger Baumbach. “All in all, pleasing”, so Kallert’s conclusion. “I am particularly pleased with the development in the clearance rate.” It shows that the region is comparatively safe.
The total number of crimes was sung for the second time in a row last year – if only by 21 crimes to 49,413. Compared to 2002, when the number of crimes was still over 70,000, this is a great step forward. “The population’s sense of security increases the fewer crimes are committed and the more of them are cleared up,” said Kallert.
Lower Franconia also performed well in a Bavaria-wide comparison: The so-called frequency number, which quantifies the criminal offenses per 100,000 inhabitants, is the second lowest here in the comparison of the seven administrative districts with 3750 after Lower Bavaria (3717). And only Lower Bavaria and Upper Franconia have a higher clearance rate, at 74.7 percent, than the Lower Franconian police.
Internet crime is increasing
But similar to the traffic balance, there are also areas of concern in the safety balance. Internet crime and call center fraud, so the call to senior citizens now known as the “grandchild trick”, was named by Kallert and Baumbach at the forefront. In the case of online crimes, the police in Lower Franconia found an increase of almost 14 percent last year. What is striking here is the increase in the fact that child pornography is distributed, says Detective Director Holger Baumbach. Often it is children and young people who disseminate prohibited or problematic content in class chats. After the Easter break, the police want to start an awareness campaign about this: “Your smartphone – your decision”.
A typical case of call center fraud is, according to Kallert, a phone call from a supposed doctor from a nearby clinic, in which senior citizens would be asked to pay for essential medication for a relative. In Lower Franconia, the number of notifications in such or comparable cases has risen by almost 20 percent. In around five percent of the cases, the call center fraud actually resulted in a money transfer. That is why the police have been informing people in the “Hang up!” via phone scammers’ scams and tries to sensitize older people with behavioral tips.
Five police officers are injured every week
“One issue that affects us particularly,” said Kallert, is violence against police officers. It has increased by almost 20 percent in the past year: “Five colleagues are injured every week,” the police chief calculated. In total there were 759 cases of violence in various forms against police officers in Lower Franconia, and 249 officers were injured on duty. Only a very small proportion of this is due to the corona measures, says Kallert. In two thirds of the cases, the suspects were intoxicated.
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