Germany's Criminal Justice System Cracks Under Rising Case Loads Amid Violent Crime Surge

Germany's criminal justice system is facing a critical overload crisis, particularly pronounced in northern and western regions such as Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). According to recent data from the German Judges Association (Deutscher Richterbund, DRB), the number of open court cases in Hamburg surged by 161% from 29,355 in 2020 to 76,637 by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, NRW recorded more than 1.3 million new cases in 2025, pushing its backlog from 177,846 in 2020 to nearly 300,000 cases—a 69% increase in five years. Nationally, unresolved cases surpassed the one million mark in 2025 for the first time.

The mounting case load has contributed to alarming consequences, including frequent releases of suspects from pretrial detention due to prolonged proceedings. DRB Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn warned that without significant staffing increases, the courts will be unable to reduce these mounting backlogs. He called on federal and state governments to provide 2,000 additional positions nationwide for prosecutors and judges, with 350 posts earmarked for NRW alone to tackle the swelling caseload.

Other states such as Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein are also reporting increases in outstanding cases, with Lower Saxony registering 81,078 and Schleswig-Holstein 40,026 unresolved procedures. The staffing shortage, estimated at 2,000 missing positions nationwide, exacerbates this growing crisis.

Compounding public concern about the justice system's strain is the recent violent crime in Dortmund, where a man was fatally shot. Police are investigating the incident that has unsettled the local community and heightened worries regarding personal safety. Authorities are appealing for witnesses to aid in their inquiry.

The interconnected challenge of rising violent incidents and an overburdened judiciary highlights urgent systemic vulnerabilities. Addressing both will require coordinated investment in law enforcement and judicial resources to restore timely justice and public confidence.