German police call for further measures after spate of knife attacks

Euronews

7 days ago

Following the latest violent stabbing attack at Hamburg central station on Friday, two of Germany's largest police trade unions are advocating for enhanced video surveillance, increased staffing, and additional controls to bolster law enforcement efforts.
At least 18 people were injured after a 39-year-old German woman with a mental health condition attacked a group of people with a knife at the station during rush hour.
The attack occurred despite the station being subject to a knife ban since December 2024, which fines anyone found carrying a bladed object with a €10,000 penalty.
Police forces and experts are calling for different measures on top of a knife ban in response to the incident, which follows a spate of similar attacks, including one in Bielefeld the week prior in which five were injured.
DPoIG national chairman Rainer Wendt argued on Monday that "modern video technology" must be used in areas with high crime rates.
In addition, Germany's law enforcement would need "considerably more police forces and relief from non-prison tasks" to implement such technology, Wendt told Euronews. The problem is one of "capacity", according to Wendt.
His comments echo those of GdP chairman Andreas Roßkopf, who advocated for placing surveillance cameras with facial recognition technology in so-called "crime hotspots" in the aftermath of the attack.
Such cameras could "detect behavioural problems in advance," Roßkopf told the domestic press. In another interview, Roßkopf also called for police to be able to carry out increased checks without cause to tackle knife crime.
A spokesperson for the German interior ministry said that after the latest incident, security would once again take a front seat. "Video surveillance is part of the concept. We are already testing AI-based video surveillance at Hansaplatz that detects conspicuous movement patterns," spokesperson Daniel Schaefer said.
Experts agree that knife bans by themselves are not always impactful in combating crime — partly due to the difficulty in enforcing them in places such as busy train stations like Hamburg's, through which thousands pass daily.
"Weapons ban zones in my view are not a sustainable approach to crime prevention," criminologist at the University of Zurich Dirk Baier told Euronews. "They rely too heavily on controlling and searching passersby."
However, according to Baier, neither artificial intelligence nor increased police powers is a single solution to preventing more knife crime.
"Knives can be inconspicuously carried in pants or jacket pockets, AI cannot detect that. And knife attackers only behave conspicuously at the moment of the attack, not beforehand," Baier said.
Preventative work in schools and early detection are more effective, Baier believes. "Often, individuals who commit knife crimes have previously exhibited aggressive behaviour. The risk posed by such individuals must be identified earlier."
DPoIG's Wendt said the family also plays a vital role in the prevention of violent knife attacks.
"For young people, it is above all their families who are responsible. If education teaches that it is okay to carry knives, schools, playgrounds and all other public spaces become dangerous places," he said.
"Parental responsibility must be emphasised more than before. They are responsible for ensuring that their children go to school unarmed. If necessary, sanctions must be used to make it clear to them that this is not a trivial matter," Wendt concluded.
Knife crime has steeply risen in Germany over the past few years, with police statistics showing an almost 10% year-on-year increase in bodily assaults involving knives since 2023.
Restrictions, such as those in place at Hamburg train station, were put in place after a mass fatal stabbing in the western city of Solingen in 2024, in which three people were killed.