Mayor Josef and Ordnungsdezernentin Rinn establish gun ban zone in Bahnhofsviertel
At a joint press conference with Frankfurt's police chief Stefan Müller and Prof. Lutz Eiding, specialist lawyer for administrative law, Lord Mayor Mike Josef and Ordnungsdezernentin Annette Rinn decreed a weapons ban zone for Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel on the basis of the Weapons Act. It applies from Wednesday, November 1, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each day (area: See graphic).
Lord Mayor Josef says: "We all agree, it can't stay the way it is in the Bahnhofsviertel. That is why I have decreed together with Ordnungsdezernentin Annette Rinn that there will be a weapons ban zone there." This means that knives with a blade length of four to twelve centimeters will then also be banned and can be confiscated.
Josef makes it clear that the decree can only be one step of many: "The Frankfurt way has always been both: drug assistance and repression. Therefore, a number of other measures will also follow on cleanliness, safety and drug assistance. As Lord Mayor, I have a duty to ensure that there is help for people suffering from drug addiction, but also to ensure that people in Frankfurt can move through the neighborhood with a safe feeling. If the no-weapons zone only protects one life, then it is right."
Ordnungsdezernentin Annette Rinn adds, "Crime in the Bahnhofsviertel has increased sharply. A weapons ban zone is therefore urgently needed and an important measure that I fully support."
According to crime statistics, the number of assaults has tripled between 2019 and 2022. That's why police have called for a gun ban zone in the past. Police chief Müller makes it clear: "The level of arming in the station area is far too high. The aim of the weapons ban zone is to minimize this and prevent the escalation of disputes by taking away weapons and knives at an early stage. What I get taken away in the early evening, I can't use at night when I'm drunk. That's immediate victim protection. The no-weapons zone is not a panacea, but it is an important measure in the city's security architecture and against the unculture of carrying knives. Every confiscated knife improves safety."
Legally, the injunction is possible on the basis of the Weapons Act, an expert opinion confirms. Prof. Eiding explains, "The legal basis for issuing the ordinance is Section 42(5) and (6) of the Weapons Act, which allows for the extension of bans to knives." He continues, "Responsible for the enactment of a weapons ban zone is the mayor of the city of Frankfurt am Main."
