Frankfurt, along with cities in France and Italy, has been hit with riots in the past days and weeks. Protests and marches that begin peacefully are taken over as night falls by people who have other agendas than protesting high prices and poor school conditions. They are more determined to bring about the downfall of Western civilization. These are made up of anarchists, Antifa types, and Islamist migrants, in addition to 2nd-3rd generation, disaffected Muslim youth.
The below article in Welt discusses a study by another German outlet, Focus, which reports that a striking number of the Frankfurt rioters either do not possess a German passport (meaning they are not German citizens) or if they do, still possess dual nationality. The article also brings out an interesting dilemma: The police do not report crime statistics that categorize a German suspect's foreign/immigration background (i.e. 2-3-4th generation). That seems proper and in keeping with how we would handle it in our country. At the same time, the public at large does need to have an accurate picture of what is going on. Hopefully, the Germans can find a proper balance.
The below article in Welt is translated by Fousesquawk.
339 Police officers injured -Half of the suspects in Frankfurt riots without German passports
According to a report, 330 arrests and detentions have been made in connection with the most recent riots nationwide, and 218 criminal proceedings have been initiated. In Frankfurt alone, 17 shops were damaged. The origin of the suspects is striking.
In the most recent riots on the margins of the nationwide protests according to research by the magazine, Focus, at least 339 police officers have been injured, most slightly. There have been about 330 arrests and detentions, as the paper reported. To date, 218 criminal proceedings have been initiated.
Particularly in Frankfurt, am Main, on October 31, after what were initially overwhelmingly peaceful "Gen Z" protests, massive riots broke out. According to the authorities, in the Frankfurt inner city, around the Zeil shopping area, 17 shops were damaged and 5 of them were looted. Riots also occurred in other cities like Cologne and Hamburg.
According to Focus, what is striking is the high number of suspects without a German passport in Frankfurt, the highest number of crimes in the night of rioting: About half of them possess no German passport. Furthermore, the other half of the suspects with German passports also possess a foreign citizenship.
Police union demands more transparency regarding origin of suspects
Against this backdrop, the German Police Union (DPolG) is demanding more transparency as to the origin of the suspects. The police possess the necessary information, for example, as to the place of birth or the possible dual citizenship, said Manuel Ostermann, deputy federal chairman of the DPolG to Focus. He assumes "that transparency of numbers can also remedy the increased polarization in society because the speculation ceases".
Ostermann thus, stood with Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. The CSU politician had blamed extreme leftists and "migrant troublemakers" as being responsible for the violence.
In fact, the police do not officially differentiate between people with or without a migration background. Criminal statistics only include if a suspect possesses German citizenship or not. The nationality of a foreign citizen is also registered -but not, whether a German citizen has foreign origins.
Ruud Koopmans, Professor of Sociology and Migration Research at Humboldt University in Berlin, joins the demand for more transparency. In Focus, he calls it "sensible" for police to mention the origin in press statements-especially when the acts, "can have a cultural background, as with homophobic violence, anti-Semitism, but also when the type of group of group affiliation is relevant". And it is obvious that applies when crimes are committed by groups.
According to the Police Union (GdP), a categorization of migration background would have legal difficulties, however. Currently, nobody can say how high the number is of people with a migration background among the perpetrators, said Benjamin Jendro, spokesman for the GdP in Berlin. Whether a German has foreign roots can currently only be recorded in a few certain crimes. If policymakers want reliable data, they need appropriate guidelines to collect it, Jendro said.
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