News item | 01-01-2022 | 18:54
For police officers, riot police, BOAs, fire and ambulance personnel, the turn of the year meant another busy and exciting night. Thanks to their enormous commitment, professionalism and the good preparation of the emergency services and the municipalities, incidents could be kept under control. The Mobile Unit (ME) was quickly on site where necessary to prevent worse. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. It is therefore terrible and at the same time criminal that aid workers in various places in the country have been violently hindered in their work and have been pelted with explosives and stones with great danger. Last New Year’s Eve, police rightly prioritized the safety of aid workers and protecting innocent civilians from rioters.
There is no pardon for violent offenders. Several arrests have already been made and more will follow. The police are doing everything they can to arrest the perpetrators of this terrible violence as soon as possible. It’s not just about rioting teenagers, but also outright criminal behavior. Where possible, speedy justice will be applied and convicts will have to pay the costs of repairing their trail of destruction.
The government has introduced the temporary fireworks ban, just like last year’s turn of the year, to relieve the burden on healthcare now with corona. The first impression of the emergency services of the hospitals and the Eye Hospital in Rotterdam is that the fireworks ban on New Year’s Eve has also contributed to less pressure on healthcare. Precise figures about the turn of the year from various emergency services, the police and the Public Prosecution Service are now being collected. It is expected that reports with the overall picture can be sent to the House of Representatives in the first half of January 2022.