The crime of exploding a cash machine to steal its contents had been on the rise in Germany, but police and legal authorities say effective coordination in 2024 has managed to reduce those incidences.
The data, published on Wednesday, comes from a survey conducted by dpa among state criminal police offices.
The problem had grown larger in recent years, reaching a record level since the data started to be recorded in 2005 of 496 such incidents in 2022. That dropped to 461 cases in 2023. Overall figures for this year are not yet available.
Insurance industry estimates showed banks suffered damage amounting to €95 million ($99 million) due to blown-up cash machines in 2023. Technical devices such as gas torches, angle grinders, hydraulic spreaders or lever tools, as well as gas mixtures and explosives are used to blow up the cash machines, a spokesman for Saxony-Anhalt’s Criminal Police Office explained.
Declines seen in many states
North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), Germany’s most populous state, reported dramatic reductions. By mid-December there had been 40 such attacks in NRW, down from 143 in the same time period in 2023 – a 73% decline.
In Lower Saxony there were 13 explosions and 5 attempts by the end of November compared to 26 blown-up cash machines and nine attempts by the end of November 2023, according to data from the state’s criminal police office. In Saxony-Anhalt there have been so far three attempts, versus 12 incidents for all of 2023.
Rheinland-Pfalz saw a 50% reduction by the end of November, while Bavaria’s levels were the same as in 2023, the state’s criminal police reported. It said perpetrators seized at least €1.6 million and caused additional property damage of around €4.2 million.
Call for tougher penalties
In Baden-Württemberg, offenders seemed likely to strike slightly more frequently by the end of the year than the year prior. By the end of November, the number of cases had already reached 42, matching the total of the previous year, as reported by the Ministry of the Interior in Stuttgart.
The overall decline is attributed by the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) to improved cooperation between police forces at home and abroad. There have been multiple arrests of suspected cash machine bombers and multiple trials against alleged offenders nationwide. Investigators reported an international operation against suspected cash machine bombers as recently as October.
In several states, there are calls for tougher penalties. Saxony’s Interior Minister Armin Schuster called for the minimum penalty to be increased to five years imprisonment. One federal bill from October would allow investigative authorities to monitor telecommunications in the case of commercial or gang-related crimes.
Recently, security measures have been strengthened as well. Experts advise banks to use specialized dye or glue systems. In the event of an explosion, cash is glued or stained to render it unusable. Because these acts also endanger human lives, cash machines have in some cases been moved out of buildings into separate containers.
