Görlitzer Park, Kottbusser Tor and Leopoldplatz: What the knife ban zones have achieved so far in Berlin
In Görlitzer Park, at Kottbusser Tor and at Leopoldplatz, knives of any kind are prohibited and will be confiscated. Berlin's police chief has now released initial figures.
Since February 15, three weapons-free zones have been in place in Berlin. The police say they have since confiscated around two dozen knives or weapons. According to Berlin's police chief Barbara Slowik, her officers checked 78 people at Leopoldplatz in Wedding between February 15 and 20. They confiscated 23 knives - 14 of them on February 18 alone, for which 17 administrative offense proceedings were initiated.
In Police Directorate 5 City, where the two weapons-free zones Görlitzer Park and Kottbusser Tor are located, the police checked a total of 127 people and found four knives.
Berlin’s Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) spoke in the Interior Committee of the House of Representatives of a “depressing number” that provides insight into the dark field.
Spranger referred to a "bundle of measures" that had been taken to counteract the increasing knife violence. The no-go zones are an element of the overall strategy to combat violent crimes committed with knives. This includes a specially created "knife coordination office" at the police, prevention programs and offender-oriented measures such as the withdrawal of driving licenses.
Critics speak of “placebo” and “jelly prescription”According to the ordinance passed by the Berlin Senate in December, all weapons and all knives, including kitchen and utility knives, are prohibited in the three knife-free zones.
The police have put up signs at the borders of the prohibited zones and in the zones themselves to draw attention to the ban on weapons and knives. A QR code on the screen takes you directly to the information. In addition, according to Slowik, several hundred flyers have been distributed.
There are currently no permanent signs indicating the bans. They still need to be made and installed.
The police union called the weapons ban zones a "placebo." The German police union spoke of a "jelly regulation" because the ban contains numerous exceptions.
Berliner-zeitung
