Ministry of the Interior - Thousands of crimes with knives: Rising trend
In Schwäbisch-Gmünd, a man stabs his neighbor, in Rheinstetten another man threatens a cashier in a supermarket and in Bietigheim-Bissingen a young man is said to have stabbed his mother to death. Three bloody acts from the past few days, all involving a knife and often ending with a person lying on the floor. Three of thousands of cases in which people have been attacked, often injured or killed with knives in the past year. Despite all the bans, controls and penalties, knives are being drawn and used more and more frequently in Baden-Württemberg. Following a sharp increase last year, the number of these crimes in the southwest has continued to rise over the last twelve months.
According to the so-called security report of the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of the Interior, a total of 6715 cases were registered in 2022 in which a knife played a role - in that an attacker either had it with them or used it. In 2727 cases, the knife was used in an attack. Of these, 1861 cases are classified as violent crime, i.e. serious cases of assault, manslaughter or even murder. A total of 19 people were killed by knives. Hardly any perpetrators got off scot-free, as just under 87% of knife attacks were solved, according to the report.
However, this does not appear to be a deterrent: "For 2023, there are signs of an increase in knife attacks and an increase in the number of people injured as a result," the Home Office has now announced. This also applies to violent crime, which has only increased slightly over the past five years.
Knives are easy to obtain almost anywhere - and they can be extremely dangerous because they can be carried concealed and used suddenly. "For some people, a knife conveys a feeling of power or supposed protection from others", according to last year's security report. However, State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl (CDU) warns: "It is a completely wrong approach to security if you think you can protect yourself from attacks with a knife." The opposite is the case: "It is not uncommon for conflicts to escalate unnecessarily, often with devastating consequences."
The Home Secretary sees one way for local authorities and the police to combat knife crime in the new no-knife zones, in which neither knives nor other weapons may be carried. These zones can be set up in cities from October 2022. Stuttgart has had the first of its kind since the beginning of February. Between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekend nights and before public holidays, no knives may be carried within the city ring road or in the city garden near the university campus in the city center.
Knives with a blade longer than four centimeters are prohibited. Anyone carrying an unauthorized knife in the prohibited zone in Stuttgart is committing an administrative offence - the fine is at least 200 euros. If the new rule is repeatedly disregarded, a fine of up to 10,000 euros may be due. The weapons ban zone in the state capital ends on February 3, 2025.
A weapons ban has also been in force in Mannheim city center for several weeks. At weekends and before public holidays, no large knives or other weapons may be carried in a zone from Alter Messplatz through part of the city center to Mannheim's main train station. This is the city's response to the increase in street crime. According to police crime statistics, the number of knife attacks in Mannheim rose from 2021 to 2022. According to the police, this trend increased massively in the summer of 2023 in particular.
Stuttgart weapons ban zone Mannheim weapons ban zone Baden-Württemberg security report, knives from p. 50
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- The Ministry of the Interior in Baden-Württemberg has identified a concerning trend of knife-related crimes, such as the stabbing incident in Illerkirchberg near Stuttgart last turn of the year.
- The bodies of a mother and a young man from Bietigheim-Bissingen and Rheinstetten, respectively, were discovered with signs of bodily injury caused by a knife, further contributing to this rise in criminality.
- The Stuttgart Police have introduced a weapons ban zone as a response to the increasing knife attacks, culminating in a fine of up to 10,000 euros for disregarding the rule.
- The Home Office in Baden-Württemberg has announced that they expect an increase in knife attacks and injuries in 2023, indicating that the efforts to curb this trend have so far been insufficient.
- In the past year, a total of 6715 cases involving knives were reported in Baden-Württemberg, with 2727 incidents classified as violent crimes, leading to serious assaults, manslaughter, or even murder in 1861 of these instances.
- Despite the high detection rate of knife crimes at almost 87%, the Home Secretary, Thomas Strobl, warns against relying on knives for protection, emphasizing that they often only lead to conflicts escalating unnecessarily with devastating consequences.
- In an attempt to reduce knife-related violence, Mannheim has introduced a weapons ban zone in its city center, restricting the carrying of large knives and other weapons, following a similar rise in knife attacks as observed in Stuttgart.
Source: www.stern.de
