Knife attacks have risen nearly 50% in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Illegal activity - Knife attacks have risen nearly 50% in North Rhine-Westphalia.

There's been a 50 percent jump in stabbings and knife attacks in North Rhine-Westphalia, as revealed in a report presented to the state parliament by Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU).

The 2022 figures stood at 4191 knife attacks, but this climbed significantly to 6221 cases in the previous year. The "Spiegel" had covered this development earlier.

Over 5700 suspects were investigated in 2023, with more than a third being under 21 years old. Nearly 87 percent of them were male. Most of the suspects were German nationals, with Syrians, Turks, Iraqis, and Romanians being the next most common ethnicities.

Meanwhile, out of the almost 8000 victims, 31.1 percent were under 21 years old and males comprised 76.5 percent of the total. 61.7 percent of the victims were Germans, with Syrians, Turks, Iraqis, and Poles coming next. In approximately 3 percent of the incidents (198), the attack resulted in murder.

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1. The increase in knife attacks has become a significant crime concern in Düsseldorf, the largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
2. In response to the rising knife attack statistics, the CDU-led government in NRW, under Herbert Reul, has announced measures to address this issue.
3. A knife attack in a crowded area of Düsseldorf last night left one person critically injured, adding to the mounting concerns about crime in the region.
4. The SPD, the main opposition party in NRW, has criticized the government's handling of the rising crime rates, particularly the knife attacks, and called for more resources to be directed towards law enforcement.

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