In the first few days of the new gun ban zones, police officers have seized numerous weapons.
© dpa
In the first ten days of the new knife bans in three Berlin zones, more than two dozen knives or weapons have been seized, according to the police.
According to Police Commissioner Barbara Slowik Meisel, more than 550 people were approached in the areas during the first week of the ban and 17 proceedings were initiated for administrative offenses.
Berlin has taken the right path, said Interior Senator Iris Spranger in the Interior Committee of the House of Representatives. The gun and knife ban zones are one component of an overall concept to combat the increased number of knife attacks in public, she said. "They specifically support security where necessary," explained the SPD politician. Initial experience has shown this. On one day alone (February 18), 14 knives were seized in the Leopoldplatz prohibition zone. "A depressing figure, which not only gives us an insight into the dark field to date, but also makes it unmistakably clear that we have taken exactly the right path," said Spranger.
The ban has been in force since February 15 and affects Görlitzer Park, Kottbusser Tor in Kreuzberg and Leopoldplatz in Wedding. According to the ordinance, all weapons and knives, including kitchen and utility knives, are prohibited - this applies to all persons. The police are displaying signs at the boundaries of the prohibited zones as well as in the zones themselves to draw attention to the ban on weapons and knives. You can access the information directly via the QR code shown. Flyers will also be distributed.