If you are a regular here at our site, you most likely already know that the Bavarian capital tops most of Germany’s Best Of rankings, and safety is no exception. Munich was once again the safest large city in Germany in 2014, according to federal crime statistics. Fewer crimes were registered in the Bavarian capital than in any of 38 cities with populations of more than 200,000. Local residents can therefore continue to enjoy an enviable quality of life in the city on the Isar River.
Munich’s police force counts over 7,000 officers in over 25 police stations all over the city (list of all of the city’s police stations). This makes it the biggest police department in the Free State of Bavaria. Thus they should be quickly on the ground when something has happened. The citizens of Munich therefore do not have any reason to worry about their safety. However, not only the police are very well represented. Numerous fire departments (professional and voluntary fire brigades), take care of the citizens’ safety, too, and should be on ground within few minutes as well. Emergency call numbers are 112 and 110.
Munich's impressive quality of life and its sustained attractiveness to tourists are attributable to many factors, one of which is a gratifyingly low crime rate. A figure of about 7,800 crimes per 100,000 residents is the lowest of any large German city. Munich is followed by Augsburg (8,385), Bielefeld (8,497), Wiesbaden (8,669) and Mönchengladbach (8,773) in the ranking.
Given Munich's growing population, more crimes were committed in the city (in absolute numbers) than in the previous year. At the same time, however, the police have been able to increase their clearance rate since 2013. A rate of 63.9 percent marked a 1.4 percent improvement year on year – significantly higher than the national average of 54.9 percent.
Munich is naturally not spared from national trends, and the number of home break-ins (+10.8 percent) as well as car (+33.1 percent) and bike (+12.9 percent) thefts is increasing. The Munich police department is making the fight against break-ins a top priority. On the positive side, the Bavarian police report a decline in violent crimes (down 4.8 percent year on year). In the last ten years, the number of these crimes has fallen by remarkable 9.3 percent.
