During the second nationwide “control night against knife violence” within a few weeks, the police checked over 11,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia on Saturday. A total of 29 knives, a baton and an irritant spray device were discovered, the NRW Ministry of the Interior announced on Sunday. Two people were provisionally arrested and eleven people were taken into custody. A further 89 people were given a place reference.
According to the ministry, around 600 emergency services were involved in the control campaign on celebration miles, squares and train stations in Bielefeld, Bochum, Düsseldorf and Cologne. “What we want to achieve is for people to learn,” said North Rhine-Westphalian Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU). According to crime statistics, the number of crimes committed with a knife has been declining since 2019. But be careful. “Unfortunately, we are currently seeing a trend going in a different direction,” said Reul.
