More violence towards police than usual last New Year’s Eve
There were 121 registered incidents of violence against police officers or other public service workers during last New Year’s Eve, the Cabinet wrote in a letter to Parliament. This is an increase of 17 incidents compared to four years.
There was also an increase in the number of police officers who sustained injuries compared to previous years. There were 295 victims of this last year, which is 105 more than the four-year average. In addition, 49 other public service workers were injured, which is double the usual amount.
The violence is “still very problematic,” the Minister of Justice and Security David van Weel wrote on X. “These violent outbursts are a deep-rooted societal problem. Not just the justice department and police but the whole of society has a part to play in eradicating this.”
Seriously? There's not a certain demographic of Dutch society that is responsible for much of the violence?
Despite this, the number of arrests made during New Year’s Eve was 11 percent lower than what is usually the case with 245. The total number of registered incidents also decreased by 19 percent. The number of incidents containing severe assault or threats has increased by 2.8 percent.
Around 120 suspects have been handed over by police to the Public Prosecution Service for further investigation. This is also less than last year when 156 suspects were handed over.
The OM stated that 68 of these cases were related to violence against people, with 36 of those being violence against emergency services. According to Attorney General Sue Preenen, there may be fewer, but there are still far too many. "The Public Prosecution Service, therefore, continues to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of suspects who use violence against emergency workers," she said.
Chief of Police Janny Knol of the National Police says she understands that police officers are becoming discouraged by these figures. “Every year, we say that violence against emergency services is unacceptable. Every year, suspects are arrested and prosecuted. The violence never stops,” she said in a statement.
“This will only happen if the people who are using violence against us come to their senses. If they see how ridiculous it is to attack emergency workers and what risks their behavior brings. Or, if they are confronted on this behavior by their inner circle.” Knol thinks that things are going in the wrong direction and is pleading for a national fireworks ban. This is something that the police have been asking for for years.
The weaponizing of fireworks really exploded this year, and should be completely banned from public use everywhere.
However, Stichting Het Vuurwerk Liefhebbers Verbond (HVLV), the association of fireworks enthusiasts, thinks that the chaos and unrest during New Year’s Eve is a “symptom of a much bigger problem” and that a national fireworks ban would not end this.
“The core of the problem is not legal fireworks but with a growing problem of authority and a lack of norms and values in society," the association said.
“Police officers are not only attacked during New Year’s Eve. We see this same behavior during football matches, demonstrations, and random incidents on the streets daily,” said Jeffrey Peters, a spokesperson for the association. “Violence against emergency workers has sadly become a broad and structural problem in the Netherlands. A ban on legal fireworks will not solve the fundamental lack of respect for authority.”
Reporting by ANP
Any and every attack on a police officer or an ER should result in significant penalties and possibly deportation where appropriate.
Asylum applications in Netherlands decline
for first time in four years
The total number of asylum applications in the Netherlands dropped in 2024, marking the first decline in four years, according to figures released by the Ministry of Asylum and Migration, Trouw reports. Nearly 45,600 asylum requests were filed with the Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) last year, compared to 50,600 in 2023 and 48,600 the year before. The number of applications was significantly lower in 2021, when the figure stood at 36,800.
The ministry's data offers a preliminary look at asylum trends in the Netherlands, with a sharp decrease in applications seen in the second half of 2024. Typically, the fall is a period when asylum requests increase, as many individuals seeking protection from conflicts and instability arrive. However, this was not the case in 2024.
The decline is not limited to new asylum seekers arriving at the reception center in Ter Apel but also includes family reunification requests, repeat asylum applications from individuals already in the country, and requests for relocation and resettlement. The latter two categories, however, represent a small portion of the total.
Approximately one-quarter of all asylum applications in recent years have been for family reunification. Asylum seekers can apply for this once they have completed the entire asylum process and been granted a residence permit—a process that now takes approximately one and a half to two years.
A notable decrease in newcomers seeking asylum was observed in 2024. As of November, 29,790 new asylum seekers had applied for protection, a significant drop from 34,505 in 2023 and 32,910 in 2022.
The final figures for December are still pending, and it remains to be seen how the political changes in Syria—marked by the end of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad—will impact the year-end numbers. Syria accounted for 44 percent of all asylum seekers in 2024. Other significant source countries included Iraq, Turkey, Eritrea, and Yemen, each contributing around 5 percent of the total.
Despite these figures, it might be too early to attribute the decline to the current government’s policies, which have aimed to reduce the number of asylum seekers.
The decrease in asylum applications is not unique to the Netherlands. Across Europe, the number of asylum seekers has also declined. Some countries, including Germany and Sweden, experienced even steeper drops than the Netherlands. In the first 11 months of 2024, Germany saw a 30 percent reduction in first-time asylum requests compared to 2023, while Sweden experienced nearly a 50 percent decrease.
In November, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, reported a 40 percent decrease in "irregular border crossings" up to that point.
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Belgian police arrest knife-wielding man
outside residence of Prime Minister De Croo
Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A knife-wielding man was detained Monday outside the official residence of Belgium's caretaker Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Brussels.
Confirming that no one was hurt in the incident, De Croo praised military police officers guarding the premises for the swift and professional way they dealt with the incident.
"I would like to sincerely thank the military police officers who acted so efficiently this morning. Relieved that no one was injured in the knife incident. The man has been arrested and we are closely monitoring the situation with the police," De Croo wrote in a post on his X account.
Brussels Police told the Belga News Agency that the officers overpowered the man, said to be armed with a knife, after he threatened them.
"The man's motives are currently unclear," they said.
The terrorism general threat level for the country, based on the seriousness and probability of an attack, is " 3 - serious", according to The Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis.
CUTA raised the level from 2 to 3 following an October 2023 shooting in which two Swedish nationals were killed and one was injured as more than 35,000 soccer fans gathered in Brussels ahead of a Belgium-Sweden European Championship game.
Belgian SWAT team officers later shot and killed the 45-year-old suspect in the shooting who was believed to have been inspired by Islamic State.
De Croo is still serving as acting prime minister seven months after resigning in June after his Flemish Liberals and Democrats party suffered a major defeat in a general election.
The country is awaiting the formation of a new coalition government involving seven parties headed by the right-wing New Flemish Alliance but leader Bart De Wever, tasked with forming a new Federal Government, missed a Christmas deadline for striking a deal, as the wrangling dragged into the new year.
Negotiations were said to be stalled on budget disagreements with De Wever looking for cuts of around $20.8 billion to get the federal government budget deficit back below 3%, with tax cuts proposals and healthcare funding the main sticking points.
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