Berlin police statistics
Most of those arrested for the firecracker attacks were German

01/10/2023 10:26 (updated)

On New Year’s Eve, emergency services were attacked with firecrackers in Berlin. Police later reported 145 arrests. The authorities are now fine-tuning their statistics. According to this, only 38 people were linked to firecracker attacks on police and firefighters. Two-thirds of them are German.

Berlin police have clarified their statistics on New Year’s Eve riots. As “Tagesspiegel” reported, citing the authorities, most of the perpetrators who were arrested after the firecracker attacks on police officers and firefighters were German citizens and under 21 years of age. Accordingly, only 38 people were captured after such attacks – two thirds of them were Germans.

Initially, it was said that 145 people from 18 different countries were arrested on New Year’s Eve. The numbers sparked debate about the lack of integration in hotspots like Neukölln, restrictions on alarm guns and better equipment for emergency services. According to “Tagesspiegel”, the number has only a limited meaning, as it refers to all the people who were arrested on New Year’s Eve throughout the federal capital for various crimes.

Of the 139 men and six women, 45 were German, 27 Afghan, 21 Syrian, nine Iraqi, five each from Poland, Turkey and Lebanon. According to the newspaper, the list includes others from France, Italy, Australia, India, Iran, Serbia, Jordan and African countries.

The number of 38 people arrested after the assault on police officers and firefighters was also of limited use, wrote “Tagesspiegel”. Only age gives an indication of possible backgrounds. It is clear that many of the people who attacked the emergency services had migration backgrounds that fit a consistent description. However, there were also hooded mobs who obstructed and attacked the firefighters. Investigators suspected that there were also people with no migration background among them. According to the paper, it is unclear to what extent radical left-wing groups are actively involved, although there are isolated indications.

(This article was first published on Monday January 09, 2023.)