Alcoholic and aggressive: Shoplifter caught in Chemnitz!

Alcoholic and aggressive: Shoplifter caught in Chemnitz!

In Chemnitz, an incident involving shoplifting caused a stir, which was not only illegal but also involved brutal violence. On June 21, 2025, a 44-year-old Latvian citizen was observed packing food and alcohol into his backpack in a discount store on Reineckerstrasse without paying. Polizei.news reports that the discount store employee, a store detective, then stopped the man. However, the drunken perpetrator was not prepared to simply go back - instead he hit the detective and tried to escape.

The situation escalated when another employee rushed to help and, together with the store detective, brought the attacker to the ground. The alert police arrived shortly afterwards and arrested the man. When he was arrested, the perpetrator had a blood alcohol level of 2.3 per mille. The stolen goods, with a total value of around 21 euros, were returned to the store management. In view of the circumstances, an investigation is now being initiated against the 44-year-old for robbery.

Robbery – A serious offense

What does predatory theft actually mean? According to Lecturio, this is a crime in which the perpetrator uses violence or makes threats to secure the stolen goods. Section 252 of the Criminal Code deals with this offense, which, like robbery, is punished with significant penalties. In order to be classified as robbery, certain requirements must be met: the theft must be carried out, the perpetrator must be caught in the act, and a qualified means of coercion must be used.

An important aspect here is the perpetrator's intention to secure the loot, which is determined in order to protect the property rights and freedom of will of those affected. The incident in Chemnitz clearly falls into this category, as the 44-year-old used violence during the crime to avoid arrest.

Crime and theft in Germany

Theft and robbery continue to be important public security issues in Germany. According to Statista, around 1.78 million thefts were recorded by the police in 2022, which represents an increase compared to the previous year. Shoplifting is particularly common, with 344,669 cases recorded in 2022 alone.

Interestingly, the number of robberies has halved in the last two decades, yet there were over 38,000 cases in 2022, including 1,060 handbag robberies. It remains to be seen how crime statistics will develop in the coming years and whether modern security measures can help curb these crimes.

The incident in Chemnitz highlights the challenges retailers face as they try to protect their stores from such attacks.