Friday, January 2
According to preliminary conclusions, firework celebrations on New Year’s Eve caused fewer difficulties than in previous years. Police spokesman Florian Nath stated, “We have no serious injuries among colleagues, nor among people celebrating. And we also don’t have such serious incidents and property damage as last year.”
However, Berlin police arrested hundreds of people on New Year’s Eve. “Through rapid targeted intervention and 400 arrests,” Stephan Weh, head of the Berlin state of the police union, claimed, “our colleagues were able to prevent large riots through professional work”.
The concept of a large no-firecracker zone at Alexanderplatz was also praised: “I’ve never seen Alex so peaceful on New Year’s Eve as it was this year.” Kilos of illegal pyrotechnics were confiscated, and 21 police officers were slightly injured by shelling from firecrackers or resistance from suspects.
In total, people alerted Berlin police 2,340 times this New Year’s Eve, who initiated about 800 investigations. They deployed 4,300 officers, 3,300 more than on normal nights, and 1,600 firefighters also worked.
