- Police union wants harsher punishments
The German Police Union in Bremen is calling for harsher penalties for carrying prohibited knives in public. They argue that this would be more effective than creating incentives for surrendering weapons. Given the rising number of violent crimes involving knives, it is "urgently necessary to send clear signals" to strengthen public safety, said the union's state chairman, Bernard Soika.
Harsher penalties, in his view, would serve as a deterrent and could potentially discourage potential offenders from carrying dangerous objects. "Our proposal is that for repeated offenses, the driver's license should be revoked due to unsuitability of character," he added.
He rejected the proposal by the federal chairman of the Police Union (GdP), Jochen Kopelke, to encourage owners of dangerous knives to surrender them through an amnesty regulation and material incentives. "Rewards for criminals - we're not a fan of that," he emphasized. Kopelke had suggested offering a Netflix annual subscription for surrendering a prohibited butterfly knife.
The German Police Union in Bremen's call for harsher penalties is supported by their state chairman, Bernard Soika, who suggests revoking a driver's license for repeated offenses involving prohibited knives due to unsuitability of character, as a part of the union's proposal. Challenging the amnesty regulation and material incentives proposal by the federal chairman of the Police Union (GdP), Jochen Kopelke, Soika firmly states, "Rewards for criminals - we're not a fan of that."
