Germany to keep national record of weapons

German govt is all set to maintain a centralised weapons` register from next year onwards to enable authorities access information regarding weapons.

Berlin: The German government is all set to maintain a centralised weapons` register from next year onwards to enable authorities access information regarding weapons and their owners with the help of a central national database.

This will make it possible for police to establish whether weapons are present at the locations to which they have been deployed such as whether or not a gun has been registered in a house reported for domestic violence. The move comes nearly four years after the tragedy of the Winnenden school shooting in Baden-Württemberg state which left 16 people dead, DAPD news agency reported. According to the country`s federal Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich (Christian Social Union - CSU), the country` new national weapons register is set to be launched Jan 1, 2013 The new register thereby makes a "considerable contribution to improving national security in Germany", he said. According to president of the federal criminal police office, Jorg Ziercke, the introduction of the register is the fulfilment of a long-standing request made by German security authorities for a central database. At times it took months to get a response from local registration office, Ziercke said, adding that the integrated electronic database would make investigations considerably faster and easier. IANS