German court to rule on legality of multi-year individual knife-carrying bans imposed by police
The Higher Administrative Court in Münster will hear a case on September 29 challenging whether police in North Rhine-Westphalia can impose multi-year knife-carrying bans on individuals under general police law, after lower courts reached opposing conclusions.
Legal dispute over long-term knife bans
Several cities in North Rhine-Westphalia have imposed multi-year bans on specific individuals carrying knives or other dangerous objects in public. Whether police have the authority to issue such orders for extended periods is now before the state's Higher Administrative Court (Oberverwaltungsgericht, OVG) in Münster. A court spokesperson told the German Press Agency (dpa) that the 5th Senate will hold an oral hearing on September 29 in the case of an 18-year-old from Wuppertal who filed a complaint against the ban imposed on him. The court admitted the appeal because of the fundamental importance of the legal question, which concerns whether general police law can serve as the basis for individual prohibitions lasting several years.
Conflicting court rulings
The lower courts have reached opposing conclusions on the legality of such bans. In September 2025, the Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgericht) Düsseldorf declared the Wuppertal order largely unlawful. The court reasoned that only the federal government can regulate a general knife-carrying ban through the Weapons Act (Waffengesetz), not state or municipal police authorities. Crossbows and irritant spray devices were exempted from that ruling. Earlier, in July 2025, the OVG Münster had assessed the matter differently in an expedited procedure filed on application by the police. The OVG's top administrative judges were convinced that police may base an individual knife ban on general police law for danger prevention without needing a specific legal provision. The judges noted that an expedited ruling carries only a provisional assessment, leaving the definitive answer for the main proceeding.
The Wuppertal case
Police had concluded that the 18-year-old posed a concrete danger to public order, citing his repeated criminal offenses as sufficient grounds for the individual ban. The police saw adequate indications that the young man's conduct warranted a multi-year prohibition on carrying knives and similar dangerous objects. The September hearing will be a main proceeding (Hauptsacheverfahren) rather than an expedited one, and is expected to produce a more definitive ruling on whether general police law suffices as a legal basis for such long-term prohibitions imposed on individuals.
- Former Dortmund police chief Gregor Lange imposes carrying ban for specific people in Dortmund and Lünen to combat knife crime
- OVG Münster rules in expedited procedure that police may base individual knife ban on general police law
- Verwaltungsgericht Düsseldorf declares Wuppertal order largely unlawful, holding only the Bund can regulate a general knife-carrying ban
- 5th Senate of OVG Münster holds oral hearing in main proceeding on the 18-year-old's complaint
Bans across NRW cities
Comparable orders to the one in Wuppertal exist in Dortmund, Bonn, Recklinghausen, and Mönchengladbach. Former Dortmund police chief Gregor Lange imposed the carrying ban in 2024 for a specific group of people in Dortmund and Lünen to combat knife crime. Those targeted include repeat offenders (Intensivtäter) and individuals who had previously used knives or other objects such as baseball bats, hammers, axes, or hatchets in the commission of crimes. The outcome of the OVG's main proceeding in September could affect the legal standing of these bans across the state, as the ruling will clarify whether municipal police authorities can rely on general police law or whether a federal legal basis is required.
