The number of crimes reported in Germany fell by almost 10 percent in 2017, according to police statistics published by the Welt am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday. It is reportedly the sharpest year-on-year drop in over 25 years, with officials saying "we have not recorded such a large decline" since 1993. Read more: German police launch crackdown on human trafficking, organized crime

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Breakdown of crimes

The report found:

There were 5.76 million crimes reported in 2017, 9.6 percent fewer than in 2016. But with 2.09 million cases of theft recorded last year, this was a decrease of 11.8 percent. Shoplifting decreased by 6.6 percent, to 353,384 cases, and pickpocketing by 22.7 percent, to 127,376. • 33,263 cars and 300,006 bicycles were stolen — down 8.6 and 9.8 percent respectively. The number of break-ins has fallen nationwide by 23 percent to 116,540 cases - although 80 percent of burglaries are still unsolved. Drug offenses also rose by 9.2 percent, to 330,580 cases. SEE ALSO: Burglaries drop by over 20 percent in a year, signalling major police success

The number of non-German suspects also fell by 22.8 percent, to 736,265 cases. Read more: German states look to reintegration to reduce migrant crime

Chairman of the police union Oliver Malchow told Welt am Sonntag to avoid "premature conclusions regarding the security situation." Malchow noted that part of the decrease is related to the fact that fewer asylum seekers came to Germany last year compared to the previous year. Instead, the figures show that more crimes are committed when there are more people in the country. Migrants are often blamed for increased crime rates, despite the Federal Criminal Police's reporting that foreigners are less likely than native-born Germans to commit every category of crime.
A report shows German crime rates fell by 10% in 2017, with crimes by foreigners down 22.8% amid controversy over crimes by migrants. Murder, drug offences, and burglaries were among the categories to rise.