Lfd. No.: 0495
In line with the Dortmund police's long-standing approach of making full use of constitutional means to combat crime, the Chief of Police has ordered a ban on carrying knives for a certain group of people in the city of Dortmund and Lünen with immediate effect.
The group of people includes known criminals for whom facts justify the assumption that they pose a concrete danger to public safety through the repeated threat of using weapons and dangerous objects. Put simply, someone who has already used knives or other dangerous objects in criminal offenses is in special focus.
In particular, people who are listed in the local intensive offender concept, i.e. offenders under the age of 21 who have already committed a large number of criminal offenses, are recorded and checked. In addition, people who have been found with a knife or similar as part of a strategic search, for example, are also included in the selection.
In recent weeks, a task force set up by the Chief Constable has identified over 400 people as test cases who are now being assessed individually. Currently, around 108 reviews have already been completed, and in 55 cases the preliminary legal hearing has already been sent out.
The weapons carry bans are deliberately not sent out by post. The Dortmund police district officers visit the persons in person, ring the doorbell and combine the handover of the prohibition orders with a risk assessment and hold the legal guardians of minors responsible at the front door.
The first 10 prohibitions have already been sent, and further checks are ongoing.
The carrying ban is initially limited to three years. If a person with a carry ban is found with a knife or similar, a fine of 250 euros will be imposed. In the event of a repeated violation, the fine increases to 500 euros. Further violations may ultimately result in enforced imprisonment.
The order focuses in particular on "permit-free weapons and other dangerous objects", such as knives of all kinds, dangerous tools (axes, hatchets, baseball bats, hammers, etc.) and animal repellent sprays.
"Knives must be taken off the streets! The fact that many people now think you have to carry a knife like a cell phone leads to a dangerous spiral. The carrying ban is a promising building block in our holistic approach with presence, control pressure and investigations in the background in order to decisively counter the problem of violent crime," says Gregor Lange.
The Dortmund police will be carrying out and reporting on key checks to ensure compliance with the orders in the near future. To this end, the Dortmund police chief will order strategic searches within the framework of the legal requirements in order to detect and punish violations of the ban on carrying weapons.
The Dortmund police will not only focus on repressive measures in their concept, but will also increasingly take preventive action in schools.
"It is clear that all social actors have a duty in this important issue, first and foremost the parents of children and young people, but also schools, sports clubs, youth facilities and social work. We need everyone's commitment to ban knives from public spaces," concluded Chief Constable Gregor Lange.