LEONHARD MÜLLER, boss of Askania, a Berlin watchmaker, no longer frets about thefts from his three shops during opening hours: they happen once a quarter. It is the four big break-ins since 2011 that shock him. Twice in four weeks this spring, professionals broke into his secure outlet at Tegel airport at night and cleaned it out. When he closed the store and opened one on the posh Kurfürstendamm, thieves promptly broke in there and made off with historic watches that are almost priceless.Overall crime has long been falling in Germany, as in most of Europe. In each of the past two years Germany has recorded fewer than 6m crimes. But these numbers hide counter-trends. First, the north suffers more than the south. The German average is seven crimes per 100,000 people, but it is 14 in Berlin, next to five in Bavaria. The police are also better at solving crimes in the south.The second trend, of which Askania’s travails are one example, is a sharp rise in specific property crimes. One fast-growing category is pickpocketing. In Berlin last year robbery involving tricks (such as children asking for help while an accomplice dips in) rose by 39%. And break-ins of…
