Firearms use
The use of firearms is the release of a shot from a firearm by a shooter.
service
In practice, the use of firearms serves to hit the target after targeting and, if necessary, after an order to shoot . Several shots can be fired at the same time, e.g. B. Doublets (two shots in quick succession). When fighting targets, the target must remain in sight for a short time after a shot has been fired in order to control success . A burst of fire is also possible depending on the weapon and situation . Firearms can be operated from a certain position - the type of attack . When aiming at a target, a lead and, if necessary (in the case of a moving target), tracking must be taken into account.
Legally, the use of firearms can serve for self-defense , emergency aid or the execution of a sovereign measure . In principle, the firing of a shot must be proportionate and lawful in these cases . The proportionality test does not apply to self-defense, here the action only has to be necessary.
Sovereign use of firearms in Germany
The sovereign use of firearms is regulated by the gun law and other legal norms. In Germany, various public officials are authorized to use firearms sovereignly ("official use of firearms"): foresters on duty and in training, law enforcement officers , law enforcement officers on duty and in training, police enforcement officers and customs officers in service and in training as well as soldiers of the Bundeswehr in the formation, in the security service , in the case of defense or in use in accordance with applicable rules of engagement .
The use of firearms is - except in training, hunting and shooting sports - a form of direct coercion (UZ). It should always be the last resort to enforce a measure . This also applies to the type of body hit, e.g. B. Shots at legs to prevent escape . The legal firing of shots against people is always aimed at making them unable to fight or flee - only in the rare case of a necessary final rescue shot is a shot that is very likely to be fatal on purpose.
The use of the gun, depending on the law and the situation police legal nature ( security ) or repressive nature ( law enforcement to be). Most country police laws allow the use of firearms if the person is suspected of a crime .
At border controls, an officer may, for. B. to stop a suspect who evaded control, fire shots even if fatal injury to the suspect cannot be ruled out.
The use of firearms must be threatened , except in the case of present dangers . The threat is usually given orally or by giving a warning shot, as far as this is possible in terms of time.
police
- Main article: Use of weapons by the police in Germany
Police officers in many countries around the world carry firearms with them to enforce measures or to provide emergency aid or self-defense . This is also used for self-protection .
Some of the federal state-specific police laws also allow shooting to be fired to avert danger, but use is extremely rare.
Judiciary
In Germany, the use of firearms primarily serves to prevent prisoners from escaping , to prevent mutinies and to ward off danger to life and limb (self-defense). The following legal norms come into consideration: Section 99 , Section 100 (1) and (2) and Section 178 (3) of the Prison Act (StVollzG) and, until 2009, Section 8 (2) of the Act on Judicial Proceedings in the Event of Deprivation of Liberty (former Law on Deprivation of Liberty, also FEVG or . FreihEntzG, since September 1, 2009 FamFG ). In penal law , the special feature is that the prison officers are employees of a federal state (justice administration), but apply a federal law (the penal law) to the use of firearms . However, in the execution of youth arrest, criminal arrest, in order, preventive, compulsory and compulsory detention, the use of firearms to prevent an escape or to be caught again is expressly excluded, Section 178 (3) StVollzG. This also applies to prisoners from open execution in accordance with Section 100, Subsection 1, No. 3, Sentence 2, StVollzG.
Federal agencies
The law on direct coercion when exercising official authority by federal law enforcement officers (UZwG) applies to federal employees.
In the case of peace, the UZwGBw applies specifically to the German Bundeswehr . In the event of a defense or an alliance , the provisions of the Hague Land Warfare Regulations apply, as well as the correct application of relevant service regulations and the observance of orders or instructions .
Civil use of firearms
Hunting and shooting sports
The most frequent use of firearms in civilian terms results from training, sporting competitions and hunting carried out by marksmen and hunters . This is regulated in various laws, including the Weapons Act, the Federal Hunting Act and other regulations, such as B. the sports regulations of the German Shooting Federation or BDMP .
Special regulations
Except in the sovereign area, civilians are also allowed to carry firearms in public areas (carry them ready to fire) under very tightly regulated conditions.
- This applies in particular to employees in the valuables transport industry or personal protection.
- In addition, "endangered persons" or "persons of public life" who can prove to the authorities a particular risk that can be countered by carrying a firearm can apply for an appropriate weapons license. However, this gun license can be subject to conditions, e.g. B. Places and times at which the use of the weapon is permitted, be bound.
- According to hunting law, confirmed game guards are "auxiliaries of the public prosecutor's office". This is also expressed by the fact that (only) the confirmed game warden receives an ID card from the "Lower Hunting Authority" (UJB). If the confirmed game warden is also trained in forestry or is a professional hunter , he has the rights and obligations of a police officer within his service district and is an investigator for the public prosecutor's office, Section 25 (2) sentence 1 BJagdG . As such, he is obliged, in accordance with the legality principle from Section 152 (2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure , to intervene in relation to all criminal offenses that can be prosecuted if there are sufficient factual indications for a criminal offense.
The following also applies to this group of people: Legally, the use of firearms can serve for self-defense , emergency aid or the implementation of a sovereign measure . It must be necessary and lawful , and in the case of a sovereign measure, it must also be proportionate .
Problems
When shooting at living beings , the use of firearms can pose an ethical problem , and a reason for justification is required in order not to be suspected of a homicide (when used against people) or under animal welfare law (when used against animals).
Using firearms against people can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder.
In the external relationship, the role of bystanders is problematic in the use of firearms, e.g. B. ricochets in rooms or moving targets that unintentionally run into the field of fire .
The unintentional (accidental) firing is based on incorrect handling of the weapon (e.g. one hand performs a different activity than the hand carrying the weapon, so that the trigger / hammer is operated simultaneously with the other hand) and incorrect handover of the weapon to others (state of charge is not stated or is stated incorrectly). Shooters with official status who fire an unwanted shot have to answer at least disciplinary .
See also
- Shooting training
- Skirmish
- Order to shoot
- shooting
- Weapon abuse
- Postenpflicht ( SS - service provision for accompanying persons and prison guard to time Nazi )
- Use of weapons by the police in Germany
- Say the nine in the weather vane
literature
- Henning Hoffmann: The shotgun - weapon, tool, sports equipment , DWJ Verlag, 2005, ISBN 3-936632-51-0
- Dietlind Neuwirth: Police firearms use , Verlag Deutsche Polizeiliteratur, 2006, paperback, 176 pages, ISBN 3-8011-0531-8 [1]
- Henning Hoffmann: Fire Fighting & Tactics - Tactical Firearms Use in the 21st Century , dwj Verlags-GmbH, 2008, ISBN 978-3-936632-57-6
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b tp-presseagentur.de: BGH judgment of October 26, 1988 against a federal German border official , March 25, 2016, accessed February 26, 2019
- ^ Matthias Bellmann / Uwe Schrader, manual for practice and use ISBN 978-3-8029-6498-5
- ^ Report: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Police
