Stabbing incident in Solingen ignites discussion over weapon restrictions
The Federal Interior Minister and Justice Minister are now required to propose an efficient strategy to combat the rising knife attacks among young males, as per Frei's statement to the newspaper. In his opinion, such a strategy could involve setting up knife-restricted zones, tightening gun regulations, and increasing police powers, such as random knife searches.
On the other hand, the German Criminal Police Association (BDK) advocates for a nuanced discussion on tackling knife violence, differentiating between premeditated attacks and crimes of emotion. "We must separate the discourse on rising knife violence from the discourse on crime in Solingen," BDK's chief Dirk Peglow told the German Press Agency (dpa).
Peglow noted that the offender would not have been discouraged by knife-restricted zones or a general knife ban, as he was aware of his actions. However, most knife attacks occur in the heat of the moment due to heated disputes, according to current findings. Therefore, Peglow proposed creating knife-restricted zones where police can specifically search for weapons.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) emphasized the importance of focusing on the offenders. In his view, to make progress on the knife violence issue, we must not only address the weapon, but also investigate the individuals carrying the knives. In his state, efforts have been made to analyze crimes more closely to shift away from general debates.
The Commission has urged the Federal Interior Minister and Justice Minister to incorporate the proposal of setting up knife-restricted zones in their strategy to combat knife attacks. Despite the offender's awareness, the Commission believes that knife-restricted zones could still be effective in preventing knife attacks that occur in heated disputes.
