Knife ban zones now apply in three locations

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  The police use signs and flyers to inform people about the new rules.

• The aim of the no-entry zones is to prevent acts of violence, which are often committed in the heat of a dispute.

• If someone just wants to peel an apple, the police are not quite so strict.

• Knives may be sold at the flea market despite the ban.

According to the police, they want to exercise a sense of proportion in the newly established no-knife zones.

Police officers would approach people who were behaving conspicuously, appeared dangerous or were perhaps already known to the officers, said police spokesman Florian Nath at a police information event on Leopoldplatz.

Found knives will be retained

What happens if someone actually has a knife with them? "The knife will be confiscated immediately, it will be collected and will never be returned to its owner," says the police spokesperson. The police use it to disarm people who could potentially be a danger to others.

Information through flyers and personal education

Police officers distributed flyers in various languages on Leopoldplatz and informed people about the new law. A flea market was held on the square, where knives were also on sale. That was not a problem, said Nath. Visitors to the flea market could buy a knife, pack it up and go home. "That's not something we would now pursue from the new gun knife ban zone."

Three weapon and knife prohibition zones in Berlin

In Görlitzer Park, Kottbusser Tor and Leopoldplatz there are permanent gun and knife ban zones from today. It is forbidden to carry weapons and knives of any kind in these areas. Knife violence is disproportionately higher in these three locations than in other areas of the city, said Nath.