Stabbing in Solingen comes amid sharp rise in knife crime in Germany | Germany

Knife violence has risen sharply in Germany in recent years. The deadly mass knife attack in the Westphalian city of Solingen will increase pressure on the government to tackle the problem, say government officials and analysts.

According to security authorities, knife attacks occur primarily in city centers and at train stations. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser therefore called for restrictions on weapons in public spaces this month. Just a few days before the attack on a folk festival in Solingen, in which three people were killed, she therefore called for restrictions on the use of weapons in public spaces.

Faeser has proposed allowing the carrying of knives with a blade length of 6 centimeters instead of the current 12 centimeters. Exceptions should only apply to newly purchased household knives in sealed packaging.

On August 11, she told ARD: “We want a general ban on dangerous switchblades and will present appropriate changes to the weapons law in a timely manner.”

She added that local governments should create more gun-free and especially knife-free zones in their communities.

“Brutal acts of violence are being committed with knives, which can cause serious injuries or be fatal,” she said.

According to police statistics, the number of serious bodily harm cases involving knives has increased by almost six percent compared to the previous year: in 2023 there were 8,951 cases compared to 2022. These included attacks in which the victims were injured or threatened with a knife.

The Federal Police, which is also responsible for security at train stations, said the number of knife crimes rose sharply to 777 attacks last year; 430 cases were registered in the first half of this year.

Berlin's Charité reported to public broadcaster RBB that as many stab wounds were treated in the first six months of 2024 as in the whole of 2023 – around 50 to 55 cases.

Germany's 16 federal states have long called for stricter measures at the federal level to curb the rising number of knife crimes. Faeser had called for better police enforcement of existing gun laws after police shot and injured a man who had injured six people with a knife attack at a far-right demonstration in Mannheim in May. Among the victims was a 29-year-old police officer who intervened and was fatally stabbed.

The country has already banned the purchase or possession of certain bladed weapons, including butterfly knives, which can result in a prison sentence of up to three years or a fine. So-called one-handed knives, which can be easily opened, and knives with a blade length of 12 cm or more are not allowed to be carried outside one's home or property.

After the deadly attack in Solingen, in which five people were seriously injured, Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised on Saturday that he would take tough action against the attacker. “The perpetrator must be caught quickly and punished to the full extent of the law,” Scholz wrote on X.

Meanwhile, MPs from the co-governing Social Democrats (SPD) and the party of Scholz and Faeser increased their calls for stricter laws.

Dirk Wiese, deputy chairman of the SPD parliamentary group, told the “Rheinische Post” newspaper: “It is clear to me that our security authorities need more powers to identify such perpetrators in a timely manner, especially in the digital space.”

“At the same time, in view of the suspected terrorist attack on the Solingen city festival, we must finally make progress on the knife bans,” demanded Wiese.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) party has sought to use street crime and knife violence as an issue, particularly in its campaign for next month's three state elections in eastern Germany, in which it is expected to perform well.

The party's co-chair, Alice Weidel, claimed in a television interview last month that there had been “more than 15,000” knife crimes in 2023. She called this a “record” and accused young men with a migrant background of being disproportionately responsible for these crimes.

Weidel later corrected the previous year's figure to 13,844. This also included robberies in which the victim was threatened with a knife.

The federal police have only been collecting specific statistics on knife crime since 2021, which makes annual comparison difficult and relies on data from individual states.

Criminologist Dirk Baier warned that even stricter laws would not be able to eradicate knife attacks.

“That will not deter young offenders,” he told public broadcaster MDR. “And there must be controls in gun-free zones and the question is whether we have enough staff.”

He called for awareness-raising campaigns to combat the increasing number of knife crimes, in which young people are told, for example, that they are most likely to injure themselves if they carry a knife with them.

“The problem cannot be solved with a law,” he said. “It is a social problem and must be addressed with social measures.”