More groups of men expected New Year’s Eve remains critical for police
COLOGNE · A report analyzes the events from New Year’s Eve at Cologne Central Train Station in 2015/2016 and gives police some valuable insights for going forward. Here are some answers to important questions.
Again this year, hundreds of young men of different nationalities will travel to Cologne to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Following the events that took place in Cologne in 2015/2016, police commissioned a report to analyze what happened. Researchers concluded that the fewest of the men were from North Africa, those who came lived in the vicinity and came in groups of two to five. Further, they didn’t have plans to meet up with others but they wanted to celebrate the New Year in Cologne. The report highlights key areas of the research conducted.
Who were the men?
Researchers analyzed the data of 640 men who had their personal identification information taken down by police in the previous year at Cologne Central Train Station. As well, 350 questionnaires were sent out, with about half of them being returned. Most of the men came from Iraq, Syria and Germany, fewer than five percent from Northern Africa. Many of them came from refugee shelters.
Why did they want to celebrate in Cologne?
Professor Andreas Zick of Bielefeld University said, “It’s about the hotspot Cologne, they come without any specific plan and are not meeting up with anyone.” They can take part in social activities without having to pay an entrance fee. Group dynamics played a strong role in the escalation that took place in 2015, with numerous thefts and sex offenses. Zick explained that small effects or situations can spill over to mass behavior leading those present to think “Everything is possible here today.” Chief of police Uwe Jakob admitted that police throughout Europe were “fully taken by surprise” by these men in 2015.
Are they all criminals?
No. 23 percent of the men had previous police records. Of those whose information was registered by police, 217 of them had an “alias name”, meaning a double identity. But Klaus Zimmerman, criminal director says this is not always deliberate as errors in numbers or letters can be the reason for the differing identities. But there was “a basic aggressive mood” and 50 property offenses were filed, according to Jakob.
Why were they aggressive?
Alcohol is one reason. But also “cultural differences and misunderstandings on both sides,” explains Jakob. The young men mostly do not trust police based on experiences in their home countries. Thomas Feltes of the Ruhr-University Bochum explained that culturally, there is a tendency for expression through nonverbal actions. The men became frustrated that they could not celebrate unimpeded because of police controls.
What tips do the experts give?
Zick believes that a “decentralization of events” makes sense. It is counterproductive to have all of the young men at the Cologne Central Train station. The likelihood that this will happen now is improbable, given that police will not let the men into various public spots in the city without passing through controls. “There needs to be better training for police, to not only go by ethnic and cultural features in the controls,” said Zick. After New Year’s Eve 2016, police were confronted with accusations of “racial profiling.”
How do police want to reach the men?
Researchers determined that the men are not consumers of German-language media, rather they communicate in social networks in their native languages. Police chief Jakob said communication was an extremely important factor that needed to be improved. More translators should be on duty on New Year’s Eve. They also want to find the social networks where the men are communicating.
Conclusion
Police will once again show a very large presence. “We clearly want to learn from the insights provided to us by the scientific researchers,” said Jakob. And the researchers want to analyze this year’s police deployment and operations as well.
Orig. text: Thorsten Moeck. Translation: ckloep
