Increased convictions for hate-motivated crimes and sexually prohibited acts

In Rhineland-Palatinate, the number of convictions for criminal offenses has seen a slight decrease, with 29,073 convictions recorded in 2024, marking a 3.5% drop compared to the previous year. The new Justice Minister, Philipp Fernis, presented these statistics for the first time.

Traffic offenses remain the most common reason for a conviction, accounting for over a quarter of all convictions. Drunkenness and leaving the scene of an accident are the primary contributors to this statistic. Interestingly, the number of driving licenses revoked by a court dropped slightly, with 4,989 revocations and 1,418 driving bans of up to six months imposed.

The partial legalization of cannabis has led to a significant drop in convictions for drug crimes, with the number falling by almost 38 percent to 2,028.

A notable increase was observed in offenses related to hate crimes, extremism, and antisemitism. The number of convictions for incitement of the people increased by 193 percent to 126, and the number of people convicted for distributing propaganda material or using symbols of unconstitutional organizations rose by 66 percent.

The proportion of men convicted was 81.5%, with women making up the remaining 18.5%. In more than half of the cases (53.6%), the sentence for juveniles could be suspended on probation.

Violent crimes saw a slight increase, with 9 percent of all convictions being for violent offenses. The share of non-Germans in convictions for violent crime was 33.8 percent, a slight increase from the previous year's 8.5 percent.

Thefts account for almost 13 percent of all convictions, showing a slight increase. Both simple thefts and theft after breaking into houses or sheds, as well as theft of locked bicycles, contributed to this statistic.

Offenses against the Residence and Asylum Acts were included in the convictions of foreigners. The most common offense among people without a German passport was traffic offenses, followed by theft and fraud. Approximately 1.8 percent of the recorded foreign population were convicted, resulting in a slight increase in their share of all convictions to around 35.2 percent.

Nine people were sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, three of which involved femicide. There were four attempted murders and 18 cases of manslaughter, resulting in a total of 31 offenses, which is 12 more than in the previous year. Almost exclusively, this increase involved right-wing extremism and racism, but also antisemitism.

Finally, 626 men and women were convicted of offenses against sexual self-determination, an increase of 94 compared to 2023.

In summary, while the overall number of convictions has decreased, certain areas such as hate crimes, extremism, and antisemitism have seen a significant increase. Traffic offenses remain the most common reason for a conviction, while the partial legalization of cannabis has led to a drop in drug crime convictions.