Die polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik ist als Instrument zur Bewertung der Sicherheitslage ungeeignet
Justice Collective, Grundrechtekomitee und 40 weitere
Wissenschaftler*innen und Mitglieder der Zivilgesellschaft warnen vor der politisierten Nutzung der polizeilichen Kriminalitätsstatistik, die jedes Jahr dafür genutzt wird, falsche Narrative über steigende Kriminalität und vermeintlich „kriminelle Migrant*innen“ zu verbreiten. Die Unterzeichnenden stellen das durch das BKA und die Medien gezeichnete statistische Bild entschieden in Frage und betonen, dass die PKS zur Polarisierung der Gesellschaft und Stigmatisierung bestimmter Bevölkerungsgruppen beiträgt.
Online-Pressekonferenz anlässlich der anstehenden Veröffentlichung der Polizeilichen Kriminalstatistik (PKS)
Justice Collective und Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie
Zusammen mit dem Kölner Komitee für Grundrechte und Demokratie hat das Berliner Justice Collective diese Konferenz einberufen, um die polizeiliche Statistik und deren politische Instrumentalisierung kritisch einzuordnen. Denn obwohl medial und politisch viel Wert auf sie gelegt wird, ist die PKS als Instrument zur Bewertung der Sicherheitslage in diesem Land ungeeignet. Dafür gibt es eine Reihe von Gründen, die wir in einem gemeinsamen Statement am 01.04. veröffentlichen werden und auf die wir in der Pressekonferenz im Detail eingehen wollen.
Criminalized: The Anti-Migration Debate Fuels and Legitimizes Systemic Racism
Anthony Obst, Justice Collective
Racism on Trial is a campaign initiated by Justice Collective to reveal and resist racism in Germany’s criminal legal system.
Each year, criminal courts in Germany fine, jail, and sentence to probation hundreds of thousands of people. Due to systemic factors, people from racialized and migrantized groups bear the brunt of this punishment.
This is how racism operates in the deeply unjust world we live in. It acts as a key factor in organizing who has power and access to resources in society. Racism thus shapes who gets policed and punished, which leads to the mass criminalization of people from marginalized groups.
This mass criminalization is largely out of view for those not affected by it. Most people know little of the system’s day-to-day workings and how these reflect and entrench societal injustices. Those who are criminalized are often alone in court, without a lawyer or solidarity.
To change this, the Racism on Trial campaign:
- Documents racism in the courts through court observations, revealing the injustices we observe in court in our case archive and findings;
- Organizes for justice, which includes sharing resources for others to courtwatch as activism and for people impacted by these systems; and
- Shares blog posts featuring news updates as well as the perspectives of other activists and communities impacted by and resisting the systemic injustices of the criminal legal system.
Join us.
Our findings
Over the last two years, we have observed and analyzed over 200 criminal court cases to understand racism in the courts. Our findings reveal systemic injustices as well as policy and procedural issues that shape people’s interactions with the criminal legal system.
Below you can click to read essays about our initial findings on the key systemic drivers of criminalization and punishment. We will publish new findings on a rolling basis, so do check back here regularly.
Cases from our archive
Every day, people face the injustices of the punishment system. Yet, what happens in court is often kept out of view for those not directly impacted by the system. Click on the cases below for more about people’s courtroom experiences, or search the case archive.
Case 28
A woman is sentenced to probation by summary proceeding, which a court-appointed attorney appealed. At trial, her lawyer is not present and she has to navigate her case without proper interpretation. The judge urges her to revoke the appeal, arguing that she has already received a lenient punishment for possession of a weapon banned in Germany. She judges her harshly based on her association with “the wrong crowd” and urges her to set a better example for her child.
Case 27
Shortly after a wave of populist outrage over a knife attack, a man convicted of attempted assault with a weapon based on little evidence appeals his sentence. At the appeal hearing, the environment is hostile, with the recent knife panic in the air: the defense is hindered from questioning witnesses while the judge and prosecutor cherry-pick testimony in an effort to justify continuing to jail the defendant pretrial, which would also facilitate his deportation. Even after a second appeal hearing does not reveal evidence sufficient to convict, the judge and prosecution insist on a high prison sentence, just two months short of his original one. The defendant is released after the second hearing because he has already served his sentence in pretrial detention.
Case 26
A young man is on trial for theft. During his trial, he is informed that his sentence will be high because he had a knife at the time, though the evidence does not show that it was used during the offense. The judge threatens the defendant with jail time. Without a lawyer to consult, he appears to have little choice but to accept the harsh sentence and put up with the judge’s insinuations that he steals for the purpose of reselling – just like unnamed “others” the judge refers to.
Case 24
The court hears a case in which a young man is accused of multiple charges, including drug, assault, and robbery charges, some of which involve a knife. After 6 hearings, mostly consisting of taking evidence from police witnesses, the young man is sentenced to prison and mandatory drug treatment for a total of almost 7 years. The court does not take into account victims’ actual needs: victims are instead asked leading questions to support a harsh punishment and are ridiculed by the court. The structural context of the defendant’s actions is largely absent from the proceedings.
Blog
On our blog, we feature news posts related to current events as well as sharing the perspectives of impacted people and communities, activists, advocates, and others who have much to share about how they are building power to end racist criminalization and punishment. Read the latest blog posts below.
Criminalized: The Anti-Migration Debate Fuels and Legitimizes Systemic Racism
Anthony Obst, Justice Collective
Solidarity-based interventions in systems of racist violence: policing, punishment, and (mass) criminalization
Kampagne für Opfer rassistischer Polizeigewalt (KOP)
The intensification of state repression, marginalization, and militarization are currently leading to an increase in police violence, a rising number of arrests for poverty-related offenses, and the brutal (criminal) disciplining of “internal enemies”. In this situation, it is urgent to reflect on how we can link the fight against racist police violence and state racism more closely with other struggles to end dehumanization, exploitation, and widespread state violence.
Documenting racism in court: Interview with Justizwatch
Justizwatch
Jailing people for unpaid fines is about more than punishing poverty
Carmen Grimm, Bündnis zur Abschaffung der Ersatzfreiheitsstrafe
In Germany, people are incarcerated every day because they cannot pay a fine. Critics of this practice known as “Ersatzfreiheitsstrafe” are in agreement that a person’s economic status should not determine the severity of their sentence. The Coalition for the Abolition of Debtor’s Prisons agrees with this view – and urges critics to take a broader view attentive to the links between poverty and racism.
Organizing Resources
Check out our background guides on the criminal legal system and other inspiration for organizing.
What does the criminal legal system look like?
Infographics on the scope of the criminal legal system.
Demands for non-reformist reforms to the criminal legal system 2025
Non-reformist reforms to address the harms of the punishment system. Join us in fighting for real change now!
Why we watch court
An overview of courtwatching as a tool of abolitionist and anti-racist organizing, with details on why we watch court to challenge the punishment and criminalization of low-level criminal cases.
Resources for impacted people
A list of resources for people impacted by criminalization and their communities, including sources for legal and other assistance.
Join us!
Reach out to us if you’re interested in courtwaching, organizing for change, or if you are looking for information or solidarity courtwatching in your own case. No one should be left alone in court.