Children under the age of 14 are very rarely registered as suspects in violent crime. This includes dangerous and serious bodily harm, sexual abuse, bodily harm resulting in death, manslaughter and murder.
In 2021, the number of suspected children in this area increased compared to the previous year (7477 to 7103). Compared to 2019, however, there was a decrease of around ten percent in 2021.
If one only considers crimes against life over a period of 20 years, the number of suspected children fluctuates between 4 and 21 each year, as can be seen from the police crime statistics (PKS). In 2021 there were 19 children suspected of crimes against life, including four girls. For comparison: According to the Federal Statistical Office, around 8.5 million children under the age of 14 lived in Germany this year.
Recently, a murder in Salzgitter, Lower Saxony, in which a child was involved, caused a stir: A 14-year-old and a 13-year-old who was not criminally responsible suffocated a 15-year-old in June 2022. In 2016, a 13-year-old in Bad Schmiedeberg (Saxony-Anhalt) repeatedly hit a boy of the same age in the head so violently that he died.
