After the knife attacks in Stuttgart, the discussion about how to deal with them continues – especially with regard to gun laws. While one police representative calls for tough action, another pleads for impunity when people hand over knives.
Following cases of knife violence in downtown Stuttgart, the discussion about the necessary consequences continues. “German gun laws are at a dead end,” criticizes the police union (GdP) in Baden-Württemberg, for example. The rival police union, the German Police Union (DPolG) BW, is calling for tougher treatment of people who carry knives without permission: “We must take tough action against criminals with knives, and we must consistently combat the carrying of weapons and knives,” said federal deputy head Ralf Kusterer to SWR.
More crimes involving knives in BW than a few years ago
The Baden-Württemberg Interior Ministry admits that cases of knife violence have increased. Over the last ten years, there has been an increase of around ten percent in crimes involving knives in public spaces in Baden-Württemberg, it told SWR. “This increase shows a reduced inhibition threshold to carry knives and use them in crimes.” In 2023, knife attacks in public spaces in Baden-Württemberg increased by 13.5 percent to a total of almost 1,300 cases.
This increase shows a reduced inhibition threshold to carrying knives and using them in crimes.
Baden-Wurttemberg
Crime statistics
Number of knife crimes in Baden-Württemberg continues to rise
It is not just since the knife murder in Illerkirchberg that people have been warned about the dangers of stabbing weapons. There are controls, there are punishments – but the number of attacks continues to rise.
From.26.12.2023
6:00 am
Holiday morning
SWR1
Weapons ban zone: Stuttgart wants more police powers
For around one and a half years, a weapons ban zone has been in place in part of Stuttgart’s city center – as well as in Mannheim, Heilbronn and Heidelberg. In Stuttgart in particular, it applies at certain times on weekends. After the most recent case, the city of Stuttgart is now examining whether the ban zone can be expanded, said Mayor of Public Order Clemens Maier (Free Voters) – both in terms of the area and the times.
Random checks in prohibited zones: Ministry sees no way to deal with them
The problem is that the police are not allowed to carry out random checks in the weapons ban zone. This is only possible in crime hotspots defined as “dangerous places”. Regulating this and making it legally possible is a matter for state politics, says Maier.
However, the state government sees no possibility of implementing this demand. “The regulations are based on an enabling provision of the Weapons Act – a federal law; the legislative authority here lies with the federal government,” the state interior ministry said in response to a query from SWR. “Therefore, there can be no deviation from the existing legal requirements of the Weapons Act for the establishment of weapon and knife-free zones in Baden-Württemberg.”
Stuttgart
After the bloody confrontation on Königstrasse
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Police representative criticizes: Hurdles for weapons ban zone too high
However, the state interior ministry also announced that the weapons ban zones are currently going through a review process. “The interior ministry will conduct the hearing process in the next step,” they said. “In particular, the state municipal associations can now comment on the draft regulations.” It is therefore quite possible that Maier’s demand for police permission to carry out random checks on weapons will also be reflected in this hearing phase – and perhaps also the position of the German Police Union. The union criticizes: “Many municipalities have not yet been able to implement weapons ban zones due to the high legal hurdles.” The hurdles therefore need to be reduced so that such zones can be set up and designated relatively easily, demands the union.
Filderstadt
41-year-old critically injured
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And while Stuttgart’s mayor Maier is calling for more police powers within While the DPolG advocates for a weapons ban zone, it also demands this outside of it: “The legal options for the police to monitor compliance with existing weapons bans outside of weapons ban zones are very limited,” it criticizes in a position paper. “For example, facts must justify the assumption that they are carrying items that can be secured or confiscated,” explains the union, adding: “In our view, in view of current developments, a suspicion of danger could be sufficient as a control authority.”
These knives are banned anyway
Even without a knife-free zone or a weapon-banned zone, many cutting and stabbing weapons are prohibited in public spaces: fixed blade knives with a blade length of more than twelve centimeters, folding knives, fist knives, one-handed folding knives, so-called balisongs (“butterfly knives”), switchblades if their blade is longer than 8.5 centimeters or sharpened on both sides, as well as cutting and stabbing weapons such as daggers, swords or throwing knives.
Police unions call for a ban on switchblades
The union is also in favor of tightening gun laws. This includes a general ban on switchblades. Knives with a blade length of six centimeters or more should also not be allowed to be carried in the future, and a “general ban on handling combat knives and daggers” is necessary, writes the DPolG in a position paper.
Ralf Kusterer, Chairman of the German Police Union BW
SWR
“Anyone who violates the weapons law and carries illegal knives should be punished,” said Ralf Kusterer, the Baden-Württemberg DPolG state chairman and federal vice-chairman, in response to a SWR query.
Customs repeatedly discover prohibited weapons such as brass knuckles and switchblades (archive).
Ulm Main Customs Office, Press Office
The police union is also dissatisfied with the current gun laws. “German gun laws are at a dead end. The Bundesrat’s call to the Bundestag to tighten the knife law apparently went unheeded.”
She is apparently referring to that the state of Lower Saxony, with the support of Baden-Württemberg, had submitted a motion for stricter gun laws to the Bundesrat in May – with the request that the federal government “further restrict the handling of weapons and knives in public”. This also included considering a ban on switchblades.
Stuttgart
Three incidents within a few days
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In mid-June, the Federal Council finally approved the demands put forward by Lower Saxony for stricter gun laws so that the federal government can look into it. While the reform is still a long way off, the DPolG is calling for the existing regulations to be applied more consistently. “What we also need is tough action and the exhaustion of all possible sanctions by the judiciary,” said Kusterer. As soon as a knife plays a role in a case, the proceedings should no longer simply be dropped.
No discontinuance of proceedings in which knives play a role. That must be the principle.
Swapping knives for Netflix: Police union backs down
The proposal to reward people who hand over knives to government agencies – for example with a free Netflix subscription – has sparked a heated debate in recent days. The idea was brought into play on Tuesday by the federal chairman of the police union, Jochen Kopelke. “In concrete terms, this could mean one year of Netflix for handing over a banned butterfly knife,” he said – similar to a “scrappage bonus” for cars.
Opposition to this proposal came from the German Police Union, among others. Both unions generally represent different demands: the DPolG is considered politically more conservative, and often represents stricter demands than the GdP.
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DPolG regional head Kusterer clearly rejected the “proposal of our competitor”. In fact, they were downright appalled by the Netflix proposal, Kusterer said in response to a query from SWR.
In the police, from the grassroots to the top, Netflix subscriptions for criminals are rejected. Our specialists within the German Police Union are appalled by this.
“What must such demands sound like to people who have been victims of knife violence?” Kusterer added. This also applies to the case of police officer Rouven Laur, who was killed in Mannheim.
Mannheim
“It will take some time until everything is processed”
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19:30
SWR News Baden-Württemberg
BW SOUND
Workload: GdP sees police at their limit
On Thursday, the state vice-chairman of the GdP in Baden-Württemberg, Thomas Mohr, spoke of a mistake by the federal chairman. Kopelke is quoted as saying: “My Netflix example is wrong and I apologize for that.” But at least the union has stuck to its general demand that knife owners enjoy immunity from prosecution as long as they voluntarily hand over knives to the authorities. On her website she continues to advocate for such an amnesty. This worked well in Germany in 2009 and at the end of 2017/beginning of 2018.
Apart from that, the GdP complains that “the increased use of knives represents a threat” for police officers as well. It is understandable that society wants more knife-free zones and more control measures. “But all of this means an unaffordable increase in work for our colleagues,” says GdP state chairman Mohr. “Shifting this responsibility onto our police alone is not a sustainable solution.”
The Interior Ministry has announced that the Baden-Württemberg police will increase their staff in the coming years. “Due to the high level of staff departures and the continuous increase in tasks, this is not yet noticeable in all areas,” the ministry admits. “But this will change increasingly and noticeably.”
