New Year’s Eve attacks Criminal psychologist contradicts NRW Interior Minister

Düsseldorf · The dimension of the attacks in Cologne on New Year’s Eve was recognizable, says one of Germany’s most famous criminal psychologists. Police were completely overwhelmed and under-equipped.

One of the most famous criminal psychologists in Germany has surprisingly contradicted the state government in an examination of the massive assaults on New Year’s Eve in Cologne. Wiesbaden scientist Rudolf Egg was called as a witness before a commission of inquiry in the state parliament. While North Rhine Westphalia’s (NRW) Interior Minister Ralf Jäger said the massive assaults by a mob of young migrant men only became clear on January 4th, Egg disagreed. “The numbers speak against that,” he said. 22 percent of complaints had already been filed on New Year’s Day.

As a consultant to the committee, Egg evaluated over 1,000 assault complaints filed. Almost half of them were sexual assaults. Apparently, many cases were not handled with sensitivity and according to Egg, a predominant number of the victims were migrants themselves. Most of the women had to report the attacks to male police officers. 62 percent of the sexual offenses were written up by men. Egg also added that most of the complaint reports filed were kept “very brief.”

According to Egg, Cologne police were overwhelmed and under-equipped. “It was from the outset too few,” he said. The state had turned down a request from Cologne for another 38 police officers. Because steps were not taken at the first signs of an emergency situation, it got completely out of hand. The attacks were not an entirely new crime phenomenon and not the result of a criminal conspiracy. The escalation that night was rather “a consequence of social contagion” because the police had not intervened. “It allowed a hunting mood to develop,” described the criminal psychologist. From his perspective, a “zero tolerance policy” would have been necessary.

During the hearing, emergency calls recorded on New Year’s Eve were played back for the first time. There was ample information from citizens about a “state of emergency” and “out of control” situation at the Cologne Cathedral and central train station far before midnight. At 11 p.m., an obviously distraught woman called, saying men were groping under dresses and the police were not doing anything.

Orig. text: Tobias Blasius

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