In 2024, German cities took heightened security measures to ensure a safe celebration of the New Year. However, this effort was not successful, as more crimes were committed than the previous year. In Berlin alone, the police detained 330 people.
Police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel were shot at. Incidents also occurred in other cities: In Leipzig, around fifty people attacked police officers with fireworks and bottles. In Cologne, the local police reported that two officers were injured by firecrackers, and there was a similar incident in Hamburg.
The Berlin police registered 1,453 so-called "typical New Year's Eve" crimes, which is 8.6% more than on December 31, 2023, according to Junge Freiheit.
In total, the police arrested 670 people. Of these, 264 (39.4%) were foreign nationals, while 406 (60.6%) were German citizens. However, as the list of first names of the suspects reveals, most of the crimes were committed by migrants or individuals with a migrant background.
According to leaked information from the Berlin police, the most common names among the suspects were Mohamed (appearing twelve times), Yusuf (six times), and Hassan (three times). The list containing the names of German suspects starts with Abdul Kerim, Abdulhamid, Abdulkadir, Abdul Karim, and Abdullah.
Around 65 percent of the names are foreign, but apparently, this is not the main issue, writes the German newspaper. The police officers who leaked the list will face severe consequences. The investigation will now be taken over by the State Criminal Police Office, specifically its division handling police and corruption-related crimes.
