Searching for witnesses, reporting offences and the legal classification of criminal offences
Important information for users of suchen.expert
1. The distinction between Verbrechen and Vergehen
When searching for witnesses or publishing incident listings, it is important to understand that German criminal law distinguishes between Verbrechen and Vergehen (§ 12 StGB).
Verbrechen are unlawful acts carrying a statutory minimum sentence of one year’s imprisonment or more (§ 12(1) StGB).
Vergehen are unlawful acts carrying a statutory minimum sentence below one year’s imprisonment or a fine (§ 12(2) StGB). Their maximum sentence may still be several years’ imprisonment. Aggravations or mitigations under the General Part and for especially serious or less serious cases are disregarded for this classification (§ 12(3) StGB).
Criminal proceedings and the position of witnesses depend in particular on:
- the applicable statutory procedural rules,
- the statutory responsibilities of the police, public prosecutor and court,
- the particular summons and any rights to refuse testimony or answers. A witness’s duties do not follow solely from classification as a Verbrechen or Vergehen.
2. Searching for witnesses on suchen.expert
suchen.expert provides a technical platform for contact and sharing information.
It does not replace a criminal report, police notification or witness testimony in court.
Important:
There is no general duty to report every offence that has already been committed. § 138 StGB concerns certain offences expressly listed there that are planned or still preventable, subject to its statutory conditions. § 139 StGB provides exceptions. Other statutory duties, particularly reasonable assistance, remain unaffected.
Searching for witnesses through suchen.expert serves solely as supplementary support and networking.
3. Truthfulness and the legal responsibility of witnesses
Anyone publishing or offering information as a witness on suchen.expert must:
- provide truthful information,
- avoid speculation, accusations and prejudgments of guilt,
- clearly distinguish observations from assumptions.
⚠️ Attention:
Deliberately false information may be criminal, in particular as:
- false accusation (§ 164 StGB), where its statutory elements are satisfied,
- defamatory allegations (§ 186 StGB) or deliberate defamation (§ 187 StGB).
False unsworn testimony (§ 153 StGB) concerns testimony as a witness or expert before a court or another body authorised to examine witnesses or experts under oath. Perjury (§ 154 StGB) requires a false oath before a competent body. A publication on suchen.expert alone is neither such witness testimony nor an oath.
4. No legal assessment or classification by suchen.expert
The police and public prosecutor examine incidents within their statutory responsibilities. The competent courts decide on criminal convictions. suchen.expert does not provide a binding legal classification.
suchen.expert:
- does not examine the elements of criminal offences,
- does not provide a legal assessment,
- does not confirm the accuracy of witness information or listings.
All such content is provided by users on their own responsibility.
5. Recommendation for incidents with possible criminal relevance
Where an offence is suspected, particularly involving:
- violent crimes,
- sexual offences,
- serious accidents,
- deaths, or
- danger to people,
we strongly recommend:
- calling the police on 110 in an immediate danger, or 112 for a medical emergency or fire,
- where there is no immediate emergency, contacting a police station or the public prosecutor and, where appropriate, reporting the offence.
Using suchen.expert cannot replace this; it can only provide supplementary assistance.
Conclusion
Searching for witnesses on suchen.expert is a useful way to connect people and share information.
It does not remove statutory duties, particularly:
- truthfulness duties,
- a reporting duty where its statutory conditions actually apply,
- responsibility for published content.
Lawful and responsible use protects witnesses, people affected and the platform alike.
