Lüchow-Dannenberg syndrome

The Lüchow-Dannenberg syndrome is a term from the field of criminology . It describes the phenomenon that the increase in the police presence in a place leads to an increase in the statistically recorded offenses and crimes . Put simply, it seems that more police force causes more crime .

This effect was observed for the first time when, in 1981, the police force in the Lüchow-Dannenberg district was reinforced and practically barracked because of the demonstrations against the transport of nuclear waste in Gorleben . During the periods when there was no demonstration, these police officers were used for normal police duties. As a result, the number of registered initial suspicious cases rose significantly more in Lüchow-Dannenberg than in the surrounding area.

In fact, the presence of the police as such has not led to an increase in crime. Rather, the dark field of crime is smaller, i.e. the number of criminal offenses that have become known has increased.

Web links

• Jürgen Raithel, Jürgen Mansel: Crime and violence in adolescence: light and dark field findings in comparison . Juventa-Verlag, Beltz Juventa Weinheim and Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7799-1740-8 , p. 13 ( books.google.de [accessed December 23, 2016]).