Violent crimes increased in Germany last year, Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said here Tuesday.

The minister told reporters that reported cases involving murder, rape, bodily harm and robbery rose 1.2 percent to 215,471 in 2006, representing a rise of 16 percent in past decade.

The number of cases involving bodily harm has risen 42 percent since 1997.

Schaeuble attributed the increase to cases involving youth gangs and children of immigrants who aren't sufficiently integrated into German society.

The rising number of violent crimes also resulted from heightened awareness of crime and more reporting to police, the minister said.

The number of criminal violations overall declined 1.4 percent to 6,304,223 in 2006, he noted.

As many as 2,468 cases of murder or attempted murder were reported to police, indicating an increase of 3 percent over those in 2005.

Actual murders dropped 9.6 percent to 727, while attempted murders rose 9.4 percent to 1,741.

Germany has a population of about 82 million.

Source: Xinhua