Overview

• The Berlin Constitutional Court ruled in May that the Senate’s first refusal to release 2023 German knife crime suspect first names was unlawful and lacked specific justification.
• The Senate is drafting a new privacy rationale based on the court’s guidance and expects to defend its decision in any renewed organ dispute.
• AfD parliamentarian Marc Vallendar has vowed to bring another constitutional complaint if the Senate continues to block access to the names.
• Knife crime cases in Berlin have increased, with non-German nationals accounting for about 58 percent of suspects in 2023.
• Interior Senator Iris Spranger plans to ban knives on public transport from mid-July under new regulations to curb rising violence.