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.

"Knives are used to commit brutal acts of violence that can cause serious injury or death," Faeser told the ARD public broadcaster in early August. "We need tougher weapons laws and stricter controls."

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.

But the police have only been collecting knife crime statistics since 2021, and criminologists are wary of defining the latest figures as a trend. Dirk Baier, a German criminologist at the Institute of Delinquency and Crime Prevention in Zurich, said........

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