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Berlin Senate Approves Citywide Weapons and Knife Ban on Public Transport

Effective mid-July, the ban empowers police to conduct suspicionless weapons checks throughout Berlin’s public transport network in response to a surge in knife attacks.

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Overview

  • The ordinance bars all weapons and knives on buses, trams, U-Bahn, S-Bahn, station buildings and platforms with violations punishable by fines up to €10,000.
  • Under the new rule, officers may stop and search passengers without needing concrete suspicion of wrongdoing.
  • Exemptions apply for professional users such as police, firefighters and hospitality workers who require knives for their duties.
  • The measure was fast-tracked after a fatal U-Bahn stabbing in April and follows 3,412 knife incidents in Berlin last year, more than half occurring in public.
  • The Green Party has denounced the expansion as symbolic action and warned that random stops risk racial profiling.