Can the police prevent further New Year's Eve riots?

Berlin - Can the police prevent further New Year's Eve riots?

The videos from last New Year's Eve in Berlin can still be found on the internet. You can see firecrackers exploding in busy streets and rockets fizzing horizontally over people. Sparks from detonating fireworks fly for meters, dark figures fire alarm guns into the sky - even when police officers are standing nearby. For many reasons, the upcoming New Year's Eve will be an even greater challenge for the police.

What is unusual about this year's New Year's Eve?

Heavy fireworks have been used in large cities for a long time. However, fireworks and rockets have also been thrown and shot at police officers and firefighters for years. Last year, the attacks in certain neighborhoods were even more violent and targeted, and rescue workers were lured into suspected ambushes, said Berlin's police commissioner Barbara Slowik. Similar escalations must also be expected this year, according to politicians and police.

Is the risk of riots increasing due to the war in the Middle East?

The Berlin police clearly answer this question in the affirmative, saying that the operational situation is becoming "significantly more demanding and complex". After the attack on Israel and the war in Gaza, the mood in districts with a large Muslim population could become even more heated. These neighborhoods - including parts of Neukölln in Berlin - were also hotspots last New Year's Eve. Slowik speaks of an "emotionalization due to the conflict in the Middle East": "We certainly assume that these emotions will also be acted out on the streets."

How successful was the prosecution of perpetrators after New Year's Eve 2022?

It was difficult for the police to prosecute directly after firecrackers and rockets were thrown because many rioters disappeared in the dark. However, it was possible to identify perpetrators by analyzing videos on the internet. According to the latest reports, the public prosecutor's office initiated 151 investigations. 89 suspects were identified and 75 cases are being investigated against unknown persons.

How have the police prepared themselves this year?

Politicians and the police are under pressure to prevent renewed riots. The new Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) wants to prove that Berlin is better positioned in terms of security than before with the SPD, Greens and Left Party. "We are aware that the security situation in our city has been even tenser since October 7 than it was before," he said.

For months, the police have been out on the streets talking to young men and teenagers in problem neighborhoods. Meetings have been organized in schools and youth clubs to make it clear to aggressive 17-year-olds that there is a human being inside the uniform and helmet. The police asked parents of pupils for help by email. They were working on New Year's Eve to help others, they said. "Please talk to your children in advance so that we too can be treated with respect and tolerance and start the new year unharmed."

Are there new police tactics on the night?

"It is the largest police operation on New Year's Eve in recent decades," said the police chief. An additional 2,000 to 2,500 police officers from Berlin, other federal states and the federal police are on the streets. There are also 500 federal police officers at suburban and long-distance train stations. A further 1000 police officers are on duty in the police stations and 220 patrol cars. Days before New Year's Eve, plainclothes police are to monitor the situation in the hotspots and arrest rioters. The fire department will be protected by police officers in some areas. Additional public prosecutors are on standby.

Could Berlin ban fireworks on its own?

No. The Greens, environmentalists and the police have long been calling for a ban on private fireworks displays. The opposing side argues that peaceful families would then have to suffer as a result of some chaotic people staging street battles in large cities. However, fireworks are regulated by federal law and there are no plans to change this. However, three local firework ban zones have been possible in Berlin for some time.

To the chagrin of the police and many residents, there are also numerous illegal firecrackers with more explosives in circulation. In Poland, just an hour away, firecracker assortments are sold without a test mark. So-called ball bombs or "Dum Bum firecracker batteries with 200 rounds" are also offered on the Internet.

Given the large police presence, can we expect New Year's Eve to be peaceful?

Despite the many measures taken, politicians and the police are once again expecting a heated atmosphere in the problem neighborhoods this year. In a city of four million people, "pyro excesses" could not be completely avoided, said police chief Slowik. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) also expressed concern that "blind rage and senseless violence" would again be experienced in some cities on New Year's Eve.