The German Judges' Association supports the planned five-year minimum sentence for using knockout drops in rapes or robberies but deems it insufficient. The association calls for better equipping law enforcement agencies to enhance protection against sexual and violent crimes. Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn emphasizes that the risk of conviction deters potential offenders more than higher penalties.
The German Judges' Association (DRB) has commented on the planned tightening of penalties for the use of knockout drops. The Federal Ministry of Justice plans to impose a minimum five-year prison sentence on perpetrators using narcotics for rape or robbery. The DRB supports this measure but demands more, as harsher penalties alone would hardly improve protection against sexual and violent crimes.
Federal Managing Director Sven Rebehn told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND): "It is not the statutory penalty, which already allows up to 15 years in prison today, but the risk of being convicted that deters potential offenders." He criticized the understaffing of public prosecutor's offices, which could hardly process sexual offense proceedings quickly. "The more time passes between the crime and the later interrogation in the criminal trial, the more difficult the truth-finding becomes. Moreover, it is extremely burdensome for the victims if proceedings against their tormentors drag on for months and years."
Rebehn described rapes and robberies using narcotic substances as particularly perfidious and dangerous. He accused the federal states of not adequately equipping their criminal justice systems: "Harsher criminal laws remain symbolic politics as long as the federal states do not follow suit and do not significantly better equip their criminal justice system." Nationwide, unprocessed criminal files were piling up, and proceedings were increasingly discontinued prematurely. Only every 16th case led to an indictment in court.
The Federal Ministry of Justice wants to equate the use of knockout drops with that of a weapon or dangerous tool in the future.
