Arms or arms-bearing objects used for causing harm and self-defense. - Some 5,000 weapons make up the LKA's collection for comparison use.
The arsenal used for criminal technology and learning at the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Office is primarily made up of confiscated or donated weapons from legal proceedings. The prosecutors or courts supervising these cases have directed that these weapons be seized by the State Criminal Office in Mainz, according to their statement to the German Press Agency. The arsenal consists of around 5,000 weapons and 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
According to them, this collection is indispensable for the responsibilities of the LKA, the State Criminal Office in Mainz. It aids in examining seized items and generating forensic reports. Indeed, at least one operational example of each model and its variants should be included in the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and each state's weapon collections. These comparison specimens are used to identify the weapon models of secured or just photographed weapons or components. Comparing collection weapons with secured weapons can also help reveal any tampering.
Germany's Landeskriminalämter own thousands of weapons and hundreds of kilograms of ammunition. These collections' nature and functions vary considerably among the federal states, as seen by the German Press Agency's inquiry to the Landeskriminalämter. Massive weapon collections are claimed to be maintained at the Landeskriminalämter in Lower Saxony (9,400 objects) and Bavaria (8,000). Additionally, these repositories contain similar items like play, hunting, or war weapons.
However, in Thuringia, far fewer weapons than in Lower Saxony and Bavaria are held (1,700 objects). North Rhine-Westphalia and Saxony-Anhalt each possess between 4,800 and 5,700 weapons. In April, the Interior Ministry in Saxony-Anhalt disclosed errors in accepting weapons and ammunition into the comparison weapon collection at the LKA there since 2019. The most recent internal investigation into the LKA's comparison weapon collection by the state parliament's interior committee was dealing with this issue.
They revealed that for many weapons and ammunition, the required permits or orders were missing. Consequently, about 69,000 rounds of ammunition were destroyed. The spokesman said there were still around 226,000 pieces of ammunition at the LKA Saxony-Anhalt. Opposition in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament had voiced concerns following the disclosure of these errors, inferring that weapons or ammunition could find their way into the wrong hands.
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The collections in the State Criminal Offices of other states, such as Lower Saxony (with 9,400 objects) and Bavaria (8,000), are similarly vast. These collections also include non-lethal weapons like play and hunting weapons. In comparison, Saxony-Anhalt, under the State Criminal Office in Magdeburg, has a smaller collection of about 5,000 weapons, similar to Rhineland-Palatinate.
Nevertheless, the State Office of Criminal Investigation in Lower Saxony, like its counterparts in other states, uses these weapons for comparison purposes and forensic analysis. The BKA, the Federal Criminal Police Office, also maintains a comparable collection of weapons for operational purposes.
In a recent report by the German Press Agency, it was revealed that some weapons and ammunition in the collection of the State Criminal Office in Saxony-Anhalt were acquired without the necessary permits or orders. This issue was under investigation by the state parliament's interior committee.
The collection in Bavaria, managed by the State Criminal Office in Munich, is also used for examining seized items and generating forensic reports, similar to the role of the collection in Mainz, Lower Saxony, or any other state in Germany.
In the State of Bavaria, the Mainz State Office of Criminal Investigation's role in weapon collection and analysis is mirrored by the State Office of Criminal Investigation in Bamberg, with its extensive arsenal of weapons and ammunition.
According to the German Press Agency, the collection in Bavaria includes not only lethal weapons but also ammunition, making it one of the largest collections in Germany. The collection in Lower Saxony, managed by the State Office of Criminal Investigation in Hanover, is similarly vast.
Prosecutors in Rhineland-Palatinate, like their counterparts in Bavaria or Lower Saxony, rely on the collection for generating forensic reports and examining seized items. This collaborative effort between the police, prosecutors, and the State Office of Criminal Investigation ensures a comprehensive approach to weapon analysis in Germany.
