Illegal pollution of soil, water and air, the unlawful handling of waste; and violations of animal protection law remain key forms of environmental crime in Germany. Environmental offences cause significant ecological damage, pose risks to human health and undermine confidence in the enforcement of environmental law. In order to provide a robust empirical basis for policy-making, enforcement practice and public debate, continuous and systematic analysis of environmental crime is essential.

Systematic analysis of official crime statistics

The project analyses the development and current status of environmental crime in Germany over the period 2013 to 2024, based on data from the Police Crime Statistics (Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik, PKS) and the criminal prosecution statistics of the Federal Statistical Office (Strafverfolgungsstatistik). The analysis provides both an overview of long-term trends and an in-depth assessment of individual categories of environmental offences.

The project examines, inter alia:

• trends in the number of recorded environmental offences,
• the distribution of cases across different types of environmental crime,
• clearance rates in comparison with overall crime in Germany,
• possible explanations for changes in case numbers, including rule awareness and compliance, enforcement and prosecution capacities, and the extent of unreported cases.

Key findings on environmental crime

The results show an overall decline in the number of recorded environmental offences between 2013 and 2024. At the same time, the analysis highlights that certain offence categories continue to account for the majority of cases, in particular offences under the Animal Protection Act, offences related to the unlawful handling of waste, and water pollution.

The findings also indicate that declining case numbers cannot be interpreted unequivocally as evidence of improved compliance. Reduced capacities for inspections, investigations, prosecution and enforcement, as well as a substantial dark figure of unreported offences, are likely to play a significant role.

Contribution to environmental policy and enforcement

Through its systematic evaluation of official statistics, the project makes an important contribution to the empirical evidence base on environmental crime in Germany. The results support:

• the assessment of the effectiveness of existing environmental criminal law and enforcement mechanisms,
• the identification of shortcomings in control, prosecution and enforcement practice,
• the further development of prevention and enforcement strategies in environmental law.

The publication continues the established “Environmental Offences” series of the German Federal Environment Agency and ensures the ongoing statistical reporting on environmental crime in Germany. With this project, Ecologic Institute continues its long-standing work on the analysis of environmental crime and on strengthening evidence-based environmental policy at the national level.