Politicians and police warn of renewed riots on New Year's Eve
Shortly before the turn of the year, politicians and police are discussing how to prevent another riot like the one a year ago. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser called for a swift tightening of gun laws. The police union (GdP) accused politicians of having "totally failed".
Rioting should not be talked up, but there is much to suggest that Berlin is facing a similarly difficult New Year's Eve as last year, GdP boss Jochen Kopelke told the Berlin daily "tageszeitung" ("taz" - Friday edition). He saw the basic problem as being that a growing group finds violence against others "hip". Attacks on police officers or paramedics promoted their own image.
Consistent punishments, better prevention concepts and more research are needed to counteract this, Kopelke demanded in the interview. At the same time, the question of why these groups are no longer being reached must be answered. "That is the task of politics. They have totally failed here."
Berlin's FDP leader, member of the Bundestag Christoph Meyer, also told the newspaper "Welt" (Friday edition) that there was a risk of a repeat of the riots at the turn of the year. He called for more active approaches to people posing a threat and a more timely police presence, as well as the widespread use of body cameras.
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Despite the calls for prevention, there's a concern that the police may again face riots on New Year's Eve, as the GdP chief pointed out. Moreover, the police union criticized the politicians for failing to address the root causes of the violence.
Source: www.ntv.de
