Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - On the second weekend after the knife-free zone in Stuttgart came into force, the police reported two violations. A 17-year-old who spat on cars with other young people on Kleiner Schlossplatz was caught on Saturday evening with an illegal knife, the police said on Tuesday on request. In another area within the city, on Josef-Hirn-Platz, two knives that have recently been banned under certain conditions were discovered on a 25-year-old man.
On the first weekend of the new regulation, the authorities had not found any violations of the new rule, which was limited in time and location, from which Mayor Frank Nopper (CDU), the majority of the municipal council and the police hope that there will be a better sense of security and a preventive effect.
According to the regulation that has been in force in the state capital since the beginning of February, knives with a fixed or lockable blade with a length of more than four centimeters may not be carried on Fridays and Saturdays from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Anyone who violates this must expect fines of at least 200 euros and up to 10,000 euros for repeated violations.
The knives may also be confiscated by the police and municipal security service. So far, only carrying knives with a blade length of more than twelve centimeters was forbidden. According to the police spokesman, the number of cases could change if more people frolic in the city center with warmer weather. So far, Stuttgart is the only municipality in the southwest that has introduced such a regulation.
