(de-news.net) – According to a position document on internal security cited by media outlets, the CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag is advocating a markedly tougher approach toward violent offenders. The paper argues that existing legal instruments are insufficient to address current security challenges and therefore calls for amendments to the Criminal Code. These revisions are intended to enable more robust state intervention, particularly in cases involving knife attacks and offenses committed by minors who are below the statutory age of criminal responsibility. The proposals are scheduled to be discussed and formally adopted at the group’s policy retreat beginning Tuesday at the Seeon monastery in Upper Bavaria, giving them a defined procedural and political framework.
The CSU leadership maintains that its security policy is designed to achieve measurable improvements in public safety rather than merely symbolic gestures or rhetorical debate. Within this framework, the document outlines a strict zero-tolerance stance toward knife offenders, perpetrators of violence against women, and antisemitic offenders. Knife-related crimes are explicitly characterized as grave offenses, on the grounds that they pose a direct threat not only to individual lives but also to social cohesion and the sense of collective security. Consequently, acts of violence involving knives or other weapons are to be reclassified as felonies, carrying a mandatory minimum prison sentence of one year. In cases where victims suffer life-threatening injuries, the proposed framework stipulates a minimum term of three years’ imprisonment without the possibility of early release, thereby signaling a substantially heightened punitive threshold.
Particular emphasis is also placed on addressing violent acts committed by children under the age of 14. In response to what the CSU describes as a worrying increase in youth violence, the paper proposes the introduction of a judicial “responsibility procedure” for minors who are currently deemed criminally non-liable. This procedure would involve prosecutors and juvenile courts and would be conducted in the presence of the children’s parents, allowing the underlying conduct to be formally examined. On this basis, standardized educational or corrective measures could then be imposed. At the same time, the CSU supports lowering the minimum age for the application of juvenile criminal law from 14 to 12, arguing that earlier legal intervention could help prevent the emergence of long-term criminal trajectories.
Measures aimed at strengthening the protection of women against violence form another central pillar of the document. Referring to statistical data illustrating the frequency of such offenses, the CSU endorses a broader use of electronic ankle monitors for violent offenders, following the adoption of a corresponding draft law by the federal cabinet in November. Further proposals include expanding stalking legislation to explicitly cover the covert use of GPS tracking devices to monitor victims. In addition, the use of incapacitating substances, such as so-called date-rape drugs, is to be treated under criminal law as equivalent to the use of weapons when employed to subdue victims. The paper also calls for the nationwide rollout of a reporting application that would allow assaults to be documented discreetly and in a manner suitable for evidentiary use in court proceedings.
Beyond the domain of violent crime, the position paper also addresses broader issues of crisis preparedness and civil protection. It calls for a more systematic effort to strengthen population resilience, with a particular focus on children and adolescents. Schools, in this context, are expected to assume a more active role in preparing students for emergency situations by integrating crisis prevention into the curriculum, for example through specially designed lesson units. This educational component is presented as a complementary measure to legal reforms, aimed at enhancing societal readiness alongside stricter enforcement.
