Fewer break-ins, but more cybercrime. Drugs are more likely to be found on the Darknet than on the streets.
During the Corona crisis, criminals quickly adapted to the new conditions. In the first few months of the pandemic in particular, Internet fraud with protective equipment and fake corona aid websites flourished. In the case of break-ins and pickpockets, the police saw “clear declines”, especially at the time of the first lockdown, said the Vice President of the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), Martina Link, in a balance sheet.
As people spent a lot of time at home due to the contact restrictions, there were fewer opportunities for unobserved break-ins and pickpockets. Those who are not as brazen as the burglars who recently entered the upper floor through an open window in Berlin while the residents were entertaining guests downstairs looked for new illegal sources of income.
“Fake Shops” on the Internet
The BKA found, for example, that organized groups tried to sell overpriced protective equipment. “In fact, fraudsters reacted quickly to the Corona situation,” says the Vice President. The police came across “fake shops” on the Internet, for example, where medical devices, alleged “coronavirus home tests” or respiratory masks were offered. The buyers paid, the ordered goods never arrived.
The economic hardship was also taken advantage of. Senders of so-called phishing emails pretended to be employees of the employment agency. Internal data from companies or private individuals were tapped via fake websites to apply for Corona emergency aid. The North Rhine-Westphalian police alone received more than 1,000 criminal charges. According to the BKA, 471 cases were registered by a reporting service from the federal and state governments on cases of cybercrime in the broader sense, which is related to the pandemic.
Drug trafficking on the internet
The police have been observing for a number of years that the initiation and processing of drug deals is increasingly shifting to the Internet. According to the BKA, the pandemic has intensified this development again. “Especially at times when public life is restricted and people tend to move around at home, drugs are less bought on the street, but rather ordered on the Darknet,” says Link.
In her opinion, the fact that online retail sales have recently seen a slight decline in prices does not have to be exclusively due to the coronavirus. The temporary closure of clubs and bars and increased police controls in public places may have reduced the demand for some typical party drugs.
The BKA vice-president emphasizes, however, that the price development always depends on various factors. One of them is “that huge quantities of narcotics of all kinds are currently being manufactured and traded around the world and are also entering the German market”. Even securing large quantities did not ultimately lead to a shortage of goods, nor did it affect the price.
The police in Germany have not yet noticed an increase in domestic violence as a result of the lockdown rules in spring. However, the BKA assumes a large number of unreported cases. Many violent crimes that are otherwise reported by people outside the family may simply not have been noticed due to the restrictions in social life.
