Germany reports lowest crime figure since 1992

BERLIN - Germany in 2017 recorded the lowest levels of crime since 1992, with 5.76 million registered offenses in total, the Federal Ministry of the Interior announced on Tuesday.

"Germany has become safer," Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said as he presented the latest crime statistics, adding the crime rate taken as a percentage of the population is at its lowest level in 30 years.

The number of offenses perpetrated by migrants also dropped significantly -- by 23 percent from around 950,000 to over 700,000. Seehofer attributed the sharp drop mostly to fewer illegal migrants arriving and settling in Germany.

Meanwhile, the number of attacks on immigrants returned to the level recorded prior to the influx of some 1 million refugees into Germany since 2015. Attacks on refugee shelters plunged by 69 percent to over 300 reported cases.

However, the interior minister warned that much still remains to be done and it is too soon to give the all-clear.