German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said of “an explosion of violence” during a March session of the Bundestag when asked about violence against women, adding that “a significant portion of this violence comes from immigrant groups.” Merz has repeatedly linked violence and criminality with immigration. In October 2025 he said his government had cut asylum applications by about 60% and urged continued large-scale deportations. His remarks provoked backlash.
The electoral gains of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which took about 19% in the first two of five state elections this year, are pressuring the conservative CDU/CSU. Jens Spahn, who leads the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, framed the issue around everyday experiences: how safe people feel, what is changing in their surroundings and how fast. At a conference of local party leaders in Berlin he argued citizens see a changed “cityscape” — Christmas markets secured like fortresses, different conditions at train stations and market squares, and an increase in shoplifting — and said “you can’t pretend irregular migration hasn’t changed the cities.”
A late‑2025 infratest dimap survey found about 48% of citizens feel unsafe in public spaces (parks, trains, buses), up from 23% in 2017. But restrictive asylum policies may not alone restore that sense of safety. Local officials say the appearance and maintenance of inner cities strongly influence perceptions of safety.
Thorsten Wünschmann, head of the Ordnungsamt in Hanau, said what most affects subjective safety is not serious crime but “socially inadequate behavior of certain groups” — actions that are not criminal but scare people in public spaces. He cited beggars, drug users, groups of drunks and homeless people, plus vacant buildings, neglect and litter, which can depress an entire neighborhood.
Rainer Wendt, head of the German police trade union (DPolG), said residents in places such as Alexanderplatz encounter evidence of migrant workers and the detritus they leave behind. Parliamentary state secretary Christoph de Vries (CDU) described organized begging groups, often from eastern European EU countries, who could not be deported; regular checks by Hamburg’s public order office reportedly made them stop coming. De Vries also warned of streets becoming hangouts for drug addicts, with residents barricading doorways to keep users out, and said organized crime — “often of foreign origin” — had become more violent and brazen, sometimes using firearms and hand grenades.
Germany’s law-enforcement structure divides responsibilities: police at state and federal levels handle serious crime, while municipal public order offices (Ordnungsämter) handle regulatory matters, minor offenses and inspections. Wünschmann emphasized the Ordnungsamt’s advantage in prevention: “Because we know the people, we can speak with them very early on and often we know the people there better than our colleagues from the police do.”
But municipalities face tight budgets. In 2024 German local governments recorded a combined deficit of almost €25 billion; in the first half of 2025 that rose by another €20 billion. Social spending and personnel costs are the main drivers, while local business tax revenue has plunged amid the economic downturn, leaving little money for infrastructure or safety investments.
Federal and state attention to municipal strains appears to be growing. The Bundestag is discussing measures to strengthen cities and local governments; funding for urban development is planned to rise from €1 billion to €1.6 billion. That money could finance urban projects intended to prevent crime: improving public spaces, eliminating “places of fear,” converting vacant buildings and otherwise making neighborhoods less intimidating after dark.
This article was originally published in German.