Berlin is preparing for New Year’s Eve. The aim is to be prepared against riots with the “largest police operation” at the turn of the year in decades. There is also a lot at stake for Governing Mayor Wegner.
People in Berlin want to be prepared this year. There should not be any more riots and riots like those at the turn of the year 2022/23. Especially as the mood in the Middle East has become more than heated as a result of the war, pro-Palestinian demonstrations are taking place again and again in the capital. Especially in population groups of Arab origin, for example in Neukölln and Gesundbrunnen, people show solidarity with the people in the Gaza Strip.
“Largest police operation”
The Berlin police are therefore planning big. “It is the largest police operation on New Year’s Eve in recent decades,” Berlin Police Chief Barbara Slowik told the dpa news agency. She also refers to the situation in Gaza: “This is mainly due to the Middle East conflict, which makes the operational situation significantly more demanding and complex.” It is assumed that these “emotions are also lived out on the street”.
Support from other federal states
Slowik announced that 2,000 to 2,500 Berlin police officers and support from Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and the federal police would be on duty on New Year’s Eve. “At the same time, the number of patrol cars will be increased from 150, as is usual at night, to 220.” There would also be 500 federal police officers at the S-Bahn and long-distance train stations.
The reasons for the significantly increased police presence are, on the one hand, the experiences of the past year. “We are significantly increasing the protection of the fire brigade and other rescue workers. And we are also very present on the streets in the relevant parts of the city,” said Slowik.
Last year, in some districts of Berlin and other major cities, in addition to the usual violent fireworks displays in the streets, there were also many firecrackers thrown and other attacks on police officers, firefighters and paramedics.
Wegner announces decisive action
Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner was still in the election campaign at the time – and as head of the CDU opposition against the red-green-red government of Franziska Giffey, he also campaigned on the issue. Completely successful.
This year he himself has to take political responsibility when things go wrong. He announced decisive action. “We have taken all the necessary precautions to ensure that the rule of law is enforced,” the CDU politician told the dpa news agency shortly before Christmas. “We know that it can be challenging in certain parts of the city. I can only appeal to everyone: Let’s celebrate New Year’s Eve peacefully together, even in a relaxed way,” said Wegner. “But anyone who attacks the police and fire services must expect a very consistent response from the constitutional state.”
The police will be heavily present in places where riots can be expected. “The judiciary will also be on standby on New Year’s Eve to check arrest warrants or initiate follow-up investigations,” said the head of government.
Taser for the police?
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser fears violent riots again on New Year’s Eve – and not just in Berlin. “I am worried that New Year’s Eve could again be a day on which we have to experience blind rage and senseless violence in some cities, for example against police officers or rescue workers,” said the SPD politician to the editorial network Germany.
Faeser’s cabinet colleague from the justice department, the FDP politician Marco Buschmann, spoke out in favor of the use of distance electrical impulse devices – so-called Tasers – in all federal states in view of violence against emergency services such as in the New Year’s Eve riots. Data collection indicated that Tasers “have a preventive effect, which is why I would like to encourage the examination of widespread use in those federal states where this is not yet the case,” wrote Buschmann to Berlin’s Justice Senator Felor Badenberg (independent), who is currently Chairwoman of the Conference of Justice Ministers of the federal states.
Rhineland-Palatinate was the first federal state to introduce Tasers at the end of 2018. With the distance electrical impulse device, police officers should be able to keep an attacker at a distance – without the risk of fatal injury as with a firearm. The police officer shoots arrows connected to wire from a distance of two to five meters. This is painful for those affected. The arrow penetrates the skin one centimeter deep and delivers an electrical impulse. The current affects nerves and muscles, causing incapacitation for a period of seconds.