Germany saw rise last year in weapons-related crime

Germany experienced an increase in weapons-related crime last year, according to statistics released by the Criminal Police Office on Friday.

This included around 35,800 violations of the Weapons Act - which covers the production, sale, ownership, storage and use of weapons and munitions - or 6.3% more cases than the previous year, according to the report.

A further 563 violations - an increase of 4.3% - fell under a separate act regulating weapons of war, which require specific government authorizations.

Most cases likely involve the illegal acquisition, possession, carrying and import of weapons, according to the information.

More crimes with firearms

In 2023, more crimes involving the use of firearms were recorded than in the previous year, with the number rising by 6.7% to around 9,100, according to the federal report.

"The number of cases in which a threat was made with a firearm increased by 8% and the number of cases in which a firearm was discharged was 5.5% higher than in the previous year," the BKA said.

Overall however, the proportion of crimes involving the use of firearms is very low, at 0.15% of all statistically recorded cases.

Gas pistols illegally converted

According to the BKA, investigators focused in particular on the professional and illegal modification of gas pistols - replica guns that fire blanks - particularly of Turkish origin, as well as the illegal manufacture of firearms.

In the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein for example, police seized 40 modified gas pistols in June 2023 from a lorry coming from Turkey.

War zone weapons

"For years, former war and crisis regions have been a source of firearms and the illegal trade in them," the BKA report said.

"The countries of the Western Balkans in particular are still in the spotlight due to the high availability of firearms there, even more than 30 years after the end of the wars," it noted.

Most of these weapons are smuggled via land routes. Organized, illegal smuggling of firearms from Ukraine into Germany has not yet been detected, according to the BKA.

High clearance rate

In 2023, the resolution rate for offences against the Weapons Act was around 92%, and a good 83% for offences against the War Weapons Control Act.

The BKA attributes these high rates to the fact that weapons crime is uncovered in the course of police controls, meaning that the weapon and the suspect are often detected together.