Bilbao (EFE)
The working group made up of the Basque Government, EUDEL, and municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants held a meeting this morning at the Ertzaintza headquarters to analyze the latest data on seizures of bladed weapons and dangerous objects.
Almost a thousand complaints
According to provisional data, in 2022 the Ertzaintza filed 440 complaints for carrying bladed weapons in situations that are not permitted. This figure, together with that of the local police (528 complaints), makes a total of 968 complaints in the Basque Country, 19% more than in 2019, the last comparable year prior to the covid-19 pandemic.
It has been agreed to toughen the amount of the sanctions when these complaints are processed within the range allowed by the Citizen Security Law.
Some penalties are doubled
Thus, for carrying a prohibited weapon the penalty will go from the current 900 euros to 1,500 euros and for carrying a regulated weapon but in a place or situation that is not allowed, the fine will go from 602 euros to 1,000 euros. In the case of public establishments, leisure or spaces with a large number of attendees, the amount will increase by 100%.
If the person carrying it is under the influence of alcoholic beverages or drugs, the penalty will be increased by 100%. The fine will be raised by the same percentage if the person carrying the weapon is in a violent state, if he exhibits or threatens with it and if he uses it negligently.
«For example, if a person is occupied with a regulated knife in a disco or nearby it would be 2,000 euros. If you are also under the influence of alcohol, 3,000 euros. If he exhibited it, 4,000 euros or even more.
Minors cannot carry bladed weapons and their use will be considered a serious offense and the penalty will go from between 100-600 current euros to 300-600 euros. To specify the sanction within these margins, it will be possible to attend to the age and the exposed circumstances.
This decision adopted this Thursday comes after a young man injured four people outside a nightclub in Vitoria at dawn on Sunday, which has sparked a debate about the advisability of installing metal detectors in these places. of leisure. EFE
