Minister: sense of security among the population is eroding

Saxon Justice Minister Constanze Geiert (CDU) laments a declining sense of security among the population. "This is gradually threatening to erode", she said during a specialist government statement in the state parliament and spoke out in favor of "honest communication". "We can only solve the problems if we address them openly and not every open discussion leads to a wave of protest on one side or the other."

People have a right to name and solve the problems. They are rightly tired of constantly having discussions about whether the problem should be named at all.

Geiert was indirectly referring to the discussion that has been taking place following the controversial comments made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) about migrants in the cityscape. Merz said two weeks ago: "Of course, we still have this problem in the cityscape, and that's why the Federal Minister of the Interior is also in the process of facilitating and carrying out repatriations on a very large scale." He later specified this and said that problems were caused by migrants who did not have permanent residence status, did not work and did not abide by the rules. In a ZDF survey, 63 percent of respondents agreed with the CDU chairman's more precise statement. Critics accused Merz of racism. Since then, there have been protests in many cities.

Geiert: Increase in violent crime

Geiert also expressed concern about a rising number of young prolific and multiple offenders during her speech in the state parliament. There is an increase in violent crime "especially among people with a migration background". She also named shoplifting as a widespread problem. "The number of shopliftings is steadily increasing, the inhibition threshold for physical attacks seems to be falling, the perpetrators are acting with great audacity and sometimes even in organized gangs."

The minister referred to a kind of incendiary letter from the mayor of Aue-Bad Schlema, Heinrich Kohl, from the spring. He wrote that he perceived a massive security problem in his community. He wrote about violent assaults in public, about young offenders who spread fear in the town and can no longer be reached with the means of youth work, said Geiert.

People would avoid certain public places out of fear

Kohl also wrote about a growing insecurity among the population - "people who avoid certain public places out of fear, who no longer use public transport without restriction or who worry about their children's way to school." The problem must be tackled without merely relativizing it statistically or simply brushing aside legitimate concerns. In Aue-Bad Schlema, the problem has been pushed back. "The rule of law has proven to be strong."

According to Geiert, her department is working with the Ministry of the Interior to prepare an action plan that will bring police and public prosecutors closer together. "We need a more offender-oriented approach to combat violent crime in public spaces - more effective controls and swifter action, for example when an arrest warrant is applied for," emphasized the minister. Such measures could not be dispensed with in the face of a social imbalance. Otherwise, citizens' trust in the state would be damaged.