Which Munich districts should be avoided?

12.02.2022 - Munich

At the beginning of each year, the City of Munich publishes its statistics on the previous year's crime situation.

For the year 2020, the statistics for the whole of Munich list the following figures:

The individual districts of Munich show dramatic differences in the number of criminal offenses. For example, Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt (10,690 criminal offenses) leads the list of districts with the most criminal offenses by a clear margin over Schwabing-Freimann (6,751). Between Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt and Schwabing-Freimann, there are 3,939 criminal offenses, which corresponds to a difference of approximately 37 percent between Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt and Schwabing-Freimann. Between Schwabing-Freimann and number three on the list, the district of Altstadt-Lehel, there is only a margin of 2.5%!

However, in order to be able to make a statement about the security situation of the individual districts, one should not only rely on the absolute figures. The relationship between the absolute number of crimes and the number of inhabitants can provide additional information that can be used for the individual assessment of the "dangerousness" of a district.

Looking at the absolute number of cases, the picture is clear: Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt is the most dangerous district in Munich. This is probably mainly due to the fact that the main train station of the Bavarian capital is located in Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.

If you look at the number of crimes per 100 inhabitants, the picture is somewhat different. Altstadt-Lehel pulls ahead of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt. To comprehend this, one must understand that Altstadt-Lehel is primarily a shopping area. Therefore, relatively few people live there in relation to the crimes committed.

Munich's Altstadt-Lehel district is therefore also - in terms of the number of criminal offenses - a not entirely harmless place.

Violent crime plays a special role in assessing the dangerousness of a district, even though it fortunately usually accounts for only a small proportion of the total number of crimes. For a resident's or visitor's personal sense of security, it is primarily important that physical integrity is not endangered. In second place comes the integrity of property, which is why we devote a separate section to the topic of theft below.

Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt also leads the inglorious list of districts with the most violent crimes. And also in terms of violent crime, Altstadt-Lehel is at the "top" of the list as soon as the number of offenses is put in relation to the number of inhabitants.

While the number of violent crimes is a good indicator for assessing physical integrity, the number of thefts can provide a good guide to property security.

As if one had suspected it: in terms of thefts, Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt again "leads" and here, too, Altstadt-Lehel moves to the top of the list when the number of inhabitants is taken into account. However, the gap between the Altstadt-Lehel district and Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt in terms of thefts per 100 inhabitants is extremely large. With 18.9 to 4.8, Altstadt-Lehel has a value that is almost four times as high as that of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.