Strength for office-holders

How should the increasing threats and attacks against local politicians be assessed? Marcus Kober from the German Forum for Crime Prevention on the uncertain data situation – and how civil society and citizens can get involved.  

The fact that local politicians are threatened has been a public issue since the murder of Walter Lübcke in 2019, but the problem is older. How would you assess the development over time? 

Local politicians experienced a first wave of threats in the years 2015 to 2017, i.e. with the first intake of large numbers of refugees in Germany. However, aggression and violence against local government employees were also recorded in the years prior to this. It is difficult to say whether the figures are an expression of a worsening general climate in society or whether threats and attacks are perceived more frequently due to heightened attention. Unfortunately, there is a lack of reliable comparative data over a longer period of time for such an assessment. One thing is certain, however: there is a problem and we have to face up to it. 

Local politicians are a particularly exposed group due to their proximity to citizens, but they are by no means the only ones who increasingly encounter hate and violence.  

That is true. Hate and violence targeting local politicians have become a focus of public attention in recent years, but in the last decade, numerous studies have been conducted on experiences of violence in other groups. These include public officials such as police officers, emergency service workers and firefighters, public administration employees, school teaching staff, employees of the judiciary, doctors and public transport staff. 

The spectrum ranges from insults, rude and disrespectful communication, threats and aggressive behaviour to the use of psychological and physical violence. Even if an increase in violence cannot be proven statistically beyond doubt, these findings signify an increase in acts of violence in a definitionally broad sense. 
These studies also clearly indicate that aggression and violence are perceived as a great burden by those affected and that they often feel abandoned and not sufficiently supported. 

According to the latest figures of the federal government, the attacks on officials and elected representatives are spread across all parties, and the motives cannot always be clearly identified. How do you interpret the situation? 

First of all, it is important to know that we do not have any long-term data on this either. Crimes against public officials and elected representatives have been reported in the statistics on "politically motivated crime" since 2018. The extent of these crimes has increased significantly in recent years. Of the 1,674 registered crimes against office and mandate holders in 2019, 89 cases were violent crimes, which was a sharp increase compared to the previous year with 1,256 crimes and 43 violent crimes. According to the federal government's response to a minor interpellation by the parliamentary group Die Linke, preliminary case figures for 2020 again indicate an increase: both in the number of offences against office and mandate holders as a whole and in the number of violent offences in particular.

Accordingly, politicians representing the AfD were most affected by politically motivated crimes overall as well as by violent crimes, followed at some distance by the SPD, CDU, Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen, Die Linke, FDP and CSU. Interestingly, and contradictory to the gut feeling that many people have: With regard to hate postings, which have also been reported in the politically motivated crime statistics since 2017, there has been no continuous increase in registered crimes in recent years. However, all figures have to take the following into consideration: Due to a large number of insults, coercions and threats committed anonymously on the internet and in social media, many offences cannot be clearly attributed in political terms. And basically, it must be assumed that the dark area of unreported crimes in the areas mentioned is large. The statistics of the law enforcement agencies therefore only provide a blurred picture of the overall phenomenon. We must bear this in mind during all debates on this topic. 

Hate and violence cannot be contained by laws and regulations alone; civil society must also become active. Where do you see promising approaches and where is there still a need for action? 

As this 'Stark im Amt' (Strength in Office) portal in particular shows, over the last few years offerings have emerged that organise counter-speech, inform and support local politicians affected by hate and violence, or advocate for more respectful communication on the internet. These are important and correct steps to counteract hate and violence. These good examples should set a precedent and become more widespread. However, it also requires the civil courage of a majority of society to show visible and clear solidarity with those affected. In many areas of life, it is essential that we counteract latent aggression and increasing brutalisation in society. 

What roles can foundations like the German Forum for Crime Prevention play in helping to improve the situation? 

Foundations and other non-profit organisations can contribute to increasing the visibility of existing problems as well as offers of help and support. In many cases, other actors lack the resources to carry out the necessary research and to present the issues in a wide-ranging way. In addition, foundations can connect those involved and bring them into conversation with one another. The German Forum for Crime Prevention also sees this as its core task: pooling experience and expertise, in our case primarily from academia, the security authorities, the judiciary and of course from civil society. Just as the challenges in the field of internal security as a whole are changing dynamically, the cooperation between these actors must also be adapted continually. This means that we and the foundations in general will not be short of work in this field. 

Interview: Martin Meister