Youth gangs, murders

Karner wants a ban on knives in streets and squares

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) in an interview with "Krone"

(Bild: BMI(C)MAKOWECZ)

Austrian authorities have recorded a significant increase in violence and assaults with stabbing weapons over the past ten years. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) now talks in an interview with "Krone" about violence against women, a new task force against youth gangs, his understanding of trouble - and "knife exclusion zones".

"Krone": Mr. Minister of the Interior, three women murdered in an erotic studio, serial abuse of a 12-year-old and most recently a dead 14-year-old from a precarious background in an apartment. Is Vienna still safe for girls and women?
Gerhard Karner: Yes, but when cases occur so frequently, it clearly leads to insecurity and fear. And that is the task of the responsible politicians and the police, to sharpen up. For this reason, a working group of experts from different areas - police, judiciary - was set up. With the clear aim of protecting children, educating young people and punishing perpetrators of violence. I have also instructed the Director General of Public Security to set up a task force to combat juvenile delinquency. The focus is on controls in urban areas and hotspots.

And what about lowering the age of criminal responsibility?
There will be proposals on the age of criminal responsibility, because someone who does something that does not comply with the rules, the laws, must expect consequences, sanctions or even penalties. No matter how old. But we also want to do something in the area of carrying weapons (editor's note: legally possible through an amendment to the Weapons Act). We already have the option of declaring weapons ban zones ...

Facts & figures

• Only when a detectable pocket knife also has a device that allows the blade to spring open ("switchblade" and "drop knife") is it a stabbing or thrusting weapon.
• In short: Slashing, stabbing and thrusting weapons fall under the legal definition of weapons. In Austria, this also includes historical weapons such as sabres, swords, halberds, swords, daggers and stilettos.
• The aim of the proposed legislation is to generally prohibit the carrying of weapons - i.e. "having them with you" outside of your home.
• In addition, knives of certain types (e.g. one-handed knives, knives with a certain blade length, etc.) are also to be included in the ban. Allowed: ordinary knives with a blunt back such as hunting knives, deer knives, bread knives, table knives, kitchen knives and pocket knives.

The question now is whether we should establish an entire gun and knife ban zone, as other European countries have done. With clear exceptions for customs, hunting and even the classic snack knife, as there are also different categorizations. But nobody can tell me that I have to be out and about in public places armed to the teeth with knives that serve as weapons.

Afghanistan, Syria, multiculturalism. All three cases mentioned have a refugee or migrant background. Have we already failed when it comes to integration?
First of all, I'm not prepared to lump everyone together. I have never done that and I never will. People from every country in the world are valuable members of our society. That ranges from carers to "Krone" colporteurs. But there are certain nationalities that stand out in the crime statistics. And I must and will also address this ...

Most recently, a brutal knife murder in a Viennese erotic studio caused horror.

(Bild: Klemens Groh)

Some of these are people from Afghanistan and Syria, some of whom have spent years in Turkish refugee camps and had zero access to education or a regulated life. Here, and I put this on the agenda at the last meeting of interior ministers, deportations must be possible again. I believe that when it comes to juvenile delinquency, crime against foreigners and murders of women, it is necessary to be level-headed and consistent. Not loud and radical.

The majority of the suspects in the abuse case involving the 12-year-old girl are of criminal age. As the father of three children, what do you say to the parents of the abused girl that all but one of the other 17 suspects are free? Or do you understand the decision of the judiciary as Minister of the Interior?
I would like to say that as head of the police, which I am as Minister of the Interior, I have resolved not to criticize the judiciary. Because close cooperation is needed for criminal prosecution to work. On the other hand, however, I have a great deal of understanding for the anger, concern and, in some cases, rage that some violent criminals are still on the loose here and the Minister of Justice has gone into hiding.

Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) in an interview with "Krone"

(Bild: BMI(C)MAKOWECZ)

Abuse videos, threats, hate online - isn't the cell phone already a dangerous weapon because it's always at hand?
Perhaps a few points. First, I have the issue of "knife, weapon". If a knife becomes a weapon, then we have to think about how we can prevent it. And I take a similar view of cell phone use, especially for children and young people. How can I bring the Youth Protection Act to life? In the area of media use, it is sometimes not worth the paper it is written on. What do I mean by that? The Youth Protection Act clearly defines which young people of which age are allowed to watch which movies. It is not uncommon for a 12- or 13-year-old to be refused entry to a movie that is rated 14 or even 16.

But then they can watch violent videos, porn, anti-Semitic, racist or Islamist videos on the bench outside the cinema. And parental responsibility will probably have to play a major role here. There are technical possibilities that can and should be used.