Court officers at several NRW courts to receive batons and pepper spray

About 240 court officers at several courts in North Rhine-Westphalia will receive batons and pepper-spray devices for one year. The equipment will be tested at justice centers in Cologne, Duisburg, Wuppertal, Bochum and Siegen. It consists of an extendable multipurpose baton and an irritant spray device.

The NRW Justice Ministry cited increasingly aggressive behavior and physical attacks as the reason for the move. NRW Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach (57, Grüne) plans to present the pilot phase in Cologne next Monday.