North Rhine-Westphalian SPD leader Thomas Kutschaty sharply criticized Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) after his presentation of the crime statistics. "Herbert Reul failed with his domestic policy," said the opposition Social Democrat of the "Neue Westfälische" (Friday). Now it shows where domestic politics "really" stands.

The NRW Ministry of the Interior reported last week that after six years of declining crime, it rose again last year for the first time. There was a significant increase in registered crimes by 13.7 percent to 1.37 million. This exceeded the number of the pre-Corona year 2019. "That annoys me," said Reul.

"The question arises as to whether the focus is the right one," criticized Kuchaty in an interview. "You can conduct organized crime raids with powerful images, but that's not enough," he said. "PR appearances" could "not replace" preventive domestic politics.

Police Crime Statistics