Massive police presence and fewer riots on New Year's Eve

Berlin - Massive police presence and fewer riots on New Year's Eve

There was no shortage of dangerous scenes on New Year's Eve in Berlin. Rockets were fired across the area, drunken men threw firecrackers at groups of people, cars, police officers and firefighters. Others fired alarm guns and were filmed doing so. Explosions of illegal ball bombs shook entire streets. Compared to the previous year, the police nevertheless drew a positive balance: a massive police contingent intervened much faster than before in many critical areas, provided much better protection for the fire department in particular and was able to apprehend many hundreds of suspected rioters.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people celebrated at the Brandenburg Gate during the night at the New Year's Eve party, which was broadcast on television. Security was tight for fear of possible terrorist attacks, private fireworks were banned and there were no serious injuries.

According to initial police figures, around 390 people were provisionally arrested throughout Berlin on New Year's Eve, mainly for violations of the Weapons and Explosives Act. A year ago, 145 suspects were arrested, often the police simply arrived too late or had too few people.

The police have currently opened 720 criminal investigations. 54 police officers were injured, 30 of them by pyrotechnics. Most of the injuries were minor, eight police officers had to leave their duties.

According to the police, the concept with defined hotspot areas in known problem neighborhoods in Neukölln, Mitte and the south of Berlin and the concentration of police had worked. The same applies to the three firecracker ban zones. In fact, the northern Sonnenallee in Neukölln, where a state of emergency prevailed on previous New Year's Eve and where police barriers, police cars and floodlights were now in place, was rather quiet. The police also successfully enforced the ban on demonstrations by Palestinian groups because of the Gaza war.

There were 3200 additional police officers from several federal states on the streets, compared to 1300 last year. In addition, there were 1000 police officers in patrol cars and guards and 500 federal police officers at the many train stations. In total, around 4700 police officers - the largest deployment ever on New Year's Eve in Berlin - were deployed to prevent anything worse from happening.

Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner (CDU), whose election success against the SPD at the beginning of 2023 also had to do with the riots on the previous New Year's Eve, said he was "already relieved" about the course of the night: "A strong presence, consistent action and full backing for our police help to keep such situations under control." Now it is up to the justice system to punish the perpetrators tangibly.

Despite everything, reports of police officers and firefighters being shot at and pelted with fireworks continued throughout New Year's Eve. Aggressive gatherings, mainly of young men, took place in Neukölln in the so-called High-Deck-Siedlung, where a bus burned down last year, but also in Lichtenrade in the south of Berlin and even more so at Alexanderplatz, where 500 people staged a kind of street fight before midnight.

Very loud explosions also pointed to illegal firecrackers. Shots from alarm guns could be heard again and again. Numerous cars and other vehicles were set on fire. Windows were destroyed by explosions, men fired alarm guns and the police found illegal ball bombs.

At around 8 p.m., a police car in Gropiusstadt was damaged by the detonation of a ball bomb, shattering the windshield. According to the police, a man in Moabit threw a Molotov cocktail at a bus and destroyed a door. In Gropiusstadt, police arrested nine people for allegedly building eleven Molotov cocktails. In Kreuzberg, firefighters extinguished a fire on a balcony and heard several explosions on their fire engine, which was badly damaged. In Rigaer Straße in Friedrichshain, masked left-wing extremists used the night to throw firecrackers from rooftops at officers, according to the police.

Numerous people were injured by firecracker explosions. Two men each lost a hand in the explosions. The Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin (UKB) treated 28 victims of firecracker explosions, mainly men, and spoke of "dramatic amputation injuries" in some cases. Blast injuries to the hands and face, serious eye injuries and burns were recorded.

The fire department registered 30 assaults - 18 at the scene, 12 during journeys. A year ago, there were 69 assaults with 15 firefighters injured. Compared to the previous year, the turn of the year was "mild". The fire department responded to 1598 incidents, 663 of which were fires. More than 1500 paramedics and firefighters were on duty with 421 vehicles.

Berlin's opposition parties looked ahead on New Year's Day and asked whether Berlin always needs a large police force on New Year's Eve. The Berlin Greens once again called for a ban on private fireworks, saying that "women and children in particular have a right to a safe New Year's Eve". The Left Party spoke of "social tensions" and repression by the police. The AfD criticized that New Year's Eve was becoming "the new May Day" and that it was about "flawed immigration policy" and a problem for society as a whole.

Police Post Post of the UKB Info New Year's Eve Party Brandenburg Gate