The fireworks caused serious injuries and resulted in two fatalities. The consequences of this New Years Eve will become clearer in the coming days, says Deputy Chief Wilbert Paulissen. But last night we already saw many fires, vandalism, and violence. For example, the Vondelkerk in Amsterdam and a sports hall in Bedum, Groningen, were destroyed by fire. A supermarket was looted and officers were pelted with Molotov cocktails, heavy fireworks, and paving stones.
Paulissen reflects on a tough evening and night. It started earlier than in other years: by mid-evening, the Mobile Unit had to intervene in many places. Almost all available Mobile Unit officers in the Netherlands were on duty. It was a maximum effort that lasted half the night. About 250 people were arrested.
Fatal Victims
Two fatal victims occurred among the public due to heavy fireworks. This happened in Nijmegen and Aalsmeer. Additionally, there were deaths from other causes during the New Years night. Paulissen: Colleagues have sometimes witnessed and experienced terrible things.
Provoked Violence
In many places, the violence was directed at the police and emergency responders. It is truly bizarre to see how some are deliberately provoking violence, sometimes wearing balaclavas, says Paulissen. Water cannons were deployed in several cities. Officers and other emergency responders were injured again, and police vehicles were brutally damaged. We have invested heavily to protect our people as well as possible, for example with new hearing protection. Still, several colleagues have suffered hearing damage.
Shortly before New Years Eve, a pilot started using larger pepper spray canisters and tear-inducing substance in the water cannon. The tear-inducing substance was not used, but the larger pepper spray canisters were. It is still too early to comment on the effects.
112 Overloaded
It was a busy night, as shown when an NL-Alert was issued about emergency number 112 being overloaded. Emergency services urged people to call only in cases of acute danger to life. For other incidents, other emergency numbers were provided. Paulissen: The control rooms had greatly increased capacity. But shortly after midnight, all lines were busy. This was mainly due to many fire reports. After the NL-Alert was issued, the number of calls quickly decreased. During last New Years Eve, there were communication problems among officers, but this year communication via C2000 went well.
Respect
New Years Eve is the busiest night of the year for the police, says Paulissen. Our goal is to make this night as safe as possible for citizens, colleagues, and other emergency responders. Unfortunately, every New Years Eve requires an extreme police effort. I have great respect for the dedication of colleagues who had to work under these conditions. Let us work undisturbed and respect our task to maintain safety. Aggression and violence have no place here. This has nothing to do with celebration; lets not normalize what is not normal. Unfortunately, we have to emphasize this every year.