Overloaded public prosecutors in Lower Saxony: Red alarm level!

Overloaded public prosecutors in Lower Saxony: Red alarm level!

Celle, Deutschland - In Lower Saxony, the overload of the public prosecutors ensures concerned faces. On July 8, 2025 and yesterday's program of the NDR program "Hello Lower Saxony", this explosive topic was more intensively dealing with this explosive topic. The challenges in front of which the judiciary faces are huge. The lack of personnel makes it difficult to process the investigation quickly and thoroughly, which has a negative impact on legal representation and the trust of the citizens: inside the judiciary.

A look at the numbers confirms the worries: At the end of May 2025, around 72,000 open procedures were to be worked on in Lower Saxony, a deficit that affects not only the public prosecutors in Hanover, but also in the other districts such as Celle and Hildesheim. The Lower Saxony judge's association speaks of at least 150 missing prosecutors, while the burden in Hanover is over 170 percent. For the prosecutors, this means that in order to work through all cases, they would have to work theoretically up to 68 hours a week.

background and solutions

The Attorney General Celle, who is responsible for several other public prosecutors, vividly advertises more staff. Katrin Ballnus, the leader, points out that the burden is far too high nationwide and particularly noticeable in her district. The development of the open procedures has increased significantly since Corona pandemic; At the end of 2023, 73,800 investigations were open nationwide, which represents an increase of about 20 percent compared to two years earlier, such as "https://www.dieniedersachsen.de/justiz/seit-corona-explodt-es-eswandlabten-ueberlastet-2930112"> Dieniedersachsen.de emphasized.

The Minister of Justice Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD) is aware of the priority of the personnel strengthening of the judiciary. New jobs have already been set up in the past two years, but the need remains high. The judiciary has not yet experienced the necessary relief, and thousands of new investigations were submitted annually by the end of 2024, while not nearly as many could be completed. In 2024, for example, 550,735 new procedures were submitted, because strategies urgently need to be developed to catch up.

consequences for the citizens: inside

What does this mean for the citizens concerned: inside? The longer duration of the investigation not only leads to frustration, but also fueled distrust into the functionality of the rule of law. One thing is clear: clarifications that should ensure a quick solution run in length. Relatives and victims often feel abandoned, while the public prosecutors are desperately trying to cope with the high workload.

Another problem that occurs in connection with the overload is the increase in crime, especially in youth crime. The increased complexity of the procedures causes additional pressure on the already tense resources. The task of creating assets is still an important challenge in which the public prosecutors are required.