German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser wants to further restrict the carrying of knives in public, to combat a perceived rise in knife crime. The opposition has criticized the plan as impractical.
The German government has promised tougher knife laws after the police reported a rise in the number of stabbings, especially near train stations — though the statistics remain controversial.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has called for the law to be changed so that only blades of 6 centimeters (2.36 inches) would be allowed to be carried in public, rather than the current 12 centimeters. An exception would be made for household knives in their original packaging. Switchblades would be banned altogether.
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The government pronouncement came after police statistics recorded a 5.6% year-on-year rise in cases of serious bodily harm involving a knife, with 8,951 incidents in 2023. The federal police, which is responsible for safety at Germany’s airports and major railway stations, also reported a significant increase in knife attacks in and around stations, with 430 in the first six months of this year.
I don’t understand. No law prevents anyone from doing what’s forbidden. Are you saying all laws are futile? Otherwise what is different with this law that makes it futile?
Also, we usually can do many things at once or in succession. We can raise prices on sugary food, start programs to inform the public about the impact sugar has on health, make school lunches more healthy etc. Would you complain that it is futile raising prices if it was the first thing proposed or would you say “Good, let’s do this and also the other things.”?
Are you saying all laws are futile? Otherwise what is different with this law that makes it futile?
I do not say that all laws are futile. The difference with this particular measurement is that it is odd to me, that a no-weapon zone is being established, as it is quite unusual that Germans carry around weapons in general. At least not where I live. People carrying around weapons of any kind is just not a thing here.
There are other laws, speed restrictions for instance. I get that there is a necessity to enforce such thing, as people have cars and tend to drive faster than they should. Speeding with a car is more common than carrying a weapon. That’s why this law makes sense, as it adresses the issue right there. Speeding doesn’t have an underlying issue that causes drivers to speed.
The thing what makes it futile in my opinion is that a restriction in carrying weapons does not solve the underlying issues (the root causes of socio-economic inequality, among others) that probably lead to harming others with knives. It’s just treating the symptoms, not the root cause.
The problem with this specific law is that it isn’t practically enforceable. You’d need to regularly search people entering this zone, which we will certainly not do.
Law’s only matter if you can expect them to be enforced. Raising prices is easily enforced (because it would be done via taxes which are checked for correctness already).
Laws will persuade people that care about the risks of their actions to not take certain actions. If you know that there’s heavy speeding enforcement in an area, and you can’t afford a ticket, you are less likely to speed. Likewise, if you worry about going to prison for a few years, then laws prohibiting the carrying of weapons is likely to persuade you not to unless you feel like your life would be in more danger if you were unarmed. People that don’t care if they go to prison are unlikely to be persuaded by laws prohibiting their criminal behavior.
