Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has called for decisive action against violence involving the use of knives. “We should (…) think about banning knives on public transport – on buses and trains,” Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
“If you’re traveling by plane, you can’t take a knife with you,” she added. “Violent criminals can do terrible things with knives,” said Faeser, pointing out that knives are available almost everywhere in everyday life. “Even with a kitchen knife you can hurt people very badly,” said the minister.
According to Faeser, an effective means could also be “gun ban zones in certain places”, then much stricter controls would be possible. “More security forces are important, especially in local transport, and more police in certain places,” said Faeser, appealing to the federal states to take the necessary measures.
Faeser rejected calls for a reduction in the age of criminal responsibility. “Criminologists and psychologists (…) have recommended leaving the age of criminal responsibility at 14 for good reason,” she said. “For younger people, the youth welfare law applies, which allows measures up to closed accommodation.”
According to police crime statistics (PKS), the number of children and young people up to the age of 14 suspected of having committed a crime increased by 39 percent last year. The number of young people between the ages of 14 and 17 who are suspected of having committed a crime is currently at an all-time high. It was only in March that a case in Freudenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, in which a twelve-year-old girl was stabbed to death by two girls of almost the same age, caused bewilderment. (AFP)
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