Knife crime: Stricter rules for knives? FDP speaks of symbolic politics

The FDP parliamentary group has criticized Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser’s (SPD) plan to reform gun laws. It therefore seems questionable whether there will be even stricter rules on the possession and carrying of dangerous knives during this legislative period.

“The proposals from the Federal Ministry of the Interior are not convincing,” said the deputy parliamentary group leader, Konstantin Kuhle, to the German Press Agency. In order to curb the growing knife crime, existing bans must be more closely monitored and violations sanctioned, demanded the FDP politician. He added: “Symbolic legal changes are going in the wrong direction.”

In view of the increase in knife attacks, Faeser wants to tighten gun laws. In the new gun laws, she will “further restrict the use of knives in public spaces,” she announced in the “Bild am Sonntag” newspaper. In public, knives will only be allowed to have a blade length of up to six centimeters instead of the previous twelve centimeters. On the sidelines of a visit to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Cologne, she said on Monday: “Six centimeters is OK. That’s a small fruit knife if you’re out and about somewhere and want to have a picnic.”

She also told the newspaper: “We want to create a general ban on the use of dangerous switchblades. We will be presenting the relevant changes to gun laws shortly.” This would mean that the manufacture, purchase, sale, use and possession of such knives would be prohibited in the future. Exceptions would only be made if someone had a legitimate interest, explained a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior – in particular if the use is in connection with the profession, as is the case with hunters, or if it is for sport, for example sailing or mountain climbing. A legitimate interest also exists for people who cannot use knives that can be opened with two hands, for example because of a missing arm or a missing or dysfunctional hand.

Weapons ban zones already exist in many cities

Faeser also called on local authorities to set up more weapon and knife-free zones. Such zones already exist in large cities such as Cologne and Hamburg. According to current legislation, the states could already set up extensive knife-free zones in public places and on public transport, said Kuhle. They should make use of this if they consider such bans necessary. “In order to curb the growing knife crime, existing bans must be more closely monitored and violations sanctioned,” said the FDP politician.

There is also good reason why knives are not allowed to be carried at meetings, events, festivals and other gatherings. Carrying switchblades is rightly subject to strict rules.

Green: Even reform would not bring 100% security

There were positive reactions to the minister’s initiative from the ranks of the Greens. Marcel Emmerich, chairman of the Greens’ parliamentary group in the Bundestag’s Committee on Internal Affairs, said that his parliamentary group was “open to going down this path”. It was logical for politicians to send a signal here. At the same time, people had to be “told the truth” and made clear that even such a reform would not bring “100 percent security”.

In January 2023, Faeser had a draft for the reform of gun laws drawn up. However, there has not yet been a cabinet decision on this. This means that the internal government vote on the draft is still ongoing – the end is open. The FDP in particular has repeatedly expressed skepticism about a possible reform. There was no mention of new regulations for knives in the 2023 draft.

At the time, the Federal Minister of the Interior had proposed, among other things, stricter regulation of blank-firing, signal and irritant weapons. The verification of reliability and personal suitability to own a weapon should be more extensive.

Countries are putting pressure on

With her new initiative, Faeser is taking up a proposal from the states. In June, the Federal Council asked the federal government to consider a general ban on switchblades in its discussions on a possible amendment to the law, as well as a ban on carrying knives with fixed blades that are at least six centimeters long, as well as further restrictions on carrying weapons, particularly on public transport and at train stations.

The Union faction’s domestic policy spokesman, Alexander Throm, believes that even more far-reaching changes are necessary with regard to knives. “Gun law is certainly one of the instruments to curb this worrying increase,” said the CDU politician. In addition, however, improved control options in knife-free zones and regulations on a general ban on carrying weapons for people who have already attracted attention are also necessary. Faeser has been promising changes here for two years now, but the government has not been able to deliver.

The railway and the federal police are responsible for security at Deutsche Bahn and S-Bahn stations. In the case of subways and buses, however, it is the operators and the respective state police who are responsible.

A knife is also involved in more than one in ten robberies

Last year, the police registered 8,951 cases of dangerous and serious bodily harm in which knives were used, either to injure someone or to threaten to do so – an increase of 5.6 percent compared to the previous year. 10.9 of all robberies recorded in 2023 were also knife attacks. A “knife attack” in the sense of police statistics refers to acts in which an attack with a knife is directly threatened or carried out against a person. Simply carrying a knife is not enough for this.