Police and fire department expect serious riots again this New Year's Eve
"Ever since last year's violent excesses in Berlin, but also in numerous places in the Ruhr region and even in Bonn, which is actually a peaceful city, everyone knows that something has gone wrong in our society," Kopelke continued. "We must finally react to this." On New Year's Eve, the police will be on site at the hotspots with a "massive deployment of personnel" in order to prevent renewed outbreaks of violence like last year.
On New Year's Eve a year ago, emergency and rescue services were massively attacked in Berlin and other cities. In some cases, the police had to be deployed to protect firefighters from attacks. Similar riots are feared this year. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) also recently warned that riots on New Year's Eve could be fueled by pro-Palestinian demonstrations in light of the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas.
The Berlin fire department is also expecting renewed riots on New Year's Eve, but says it is prepared for this. "We can assume that there will be scenes like last year again," said fire department spokesman Vinzenz Kasch to Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg (rbb) on Thursday. However, the fire department had prepared for this in coordination with the police and had improved its own procedures.
"We assume that we are well prepared and that we can allow our colleagues to work safely," added Kasch. At the same time, he did not want to comment on the details of the security concept.
According to a survey published on Thursday, half of volunteer firefighters in Germany have experienced violence in the form of verbal abuse or physical attacks while on duty in the past two years. The rate is 49.5 percent, according to the survey for the German Firefighters' Association (DFV) and the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV). Experiences of violence are now "sad everyday life" for members of the fire departments, said fire department association boss Karl-Heinz Banse.
According to the fire department and accident insurance companies, verbal violence in the form of insults and verbal or gestural abuse dominates. According to the survey results, 90 percent of those affected reported this. 36 percent experienced intimidation or threats. Around the same number reported being specifically threatened to hit them with vehicles. Around 14 percent had fireworks thrown at them while on duty.
Acts of violence against emergency services personnel are not a normal phenomenon that must and can be accepted, emphasized Stefan Hussy, Managing Director of the German Social Accident Insurance. "They demotivate and frustrate those affected. This harms volunteering and ultimately society as a whole," he said at the presentation of the results in Berlin.
The firefighters' association and accident insurance company appealed "to all parts of society to take a firm stand against violence". More than 6,500 firefighters across Germany took part in the survey between the beginning of November and mid-December, which did not specifically relate to operations on New Year's Eve.
The result of the survey was "a sad and completely unacceptable finding", explained Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD). "Violent attacks against people who save the lives of others are and remain completely incomprehensible. We are seeing a brutalization in our society that must cause us great concern." In addition to consistent criminal prosecution, "solidarity in our society as a whole" is also necessary.
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Source: www.stern.de
