Only a nationwide fireworks ban will help prevent unrest, damage and injuries on New Year’s Eve. That’s what Frank Paauw, Amsterdam’s chief of police and national responsibility for preventing violence against police, says.
“The incidents we encounter always involve fireworks being set off,” says Paauw. “It creates an atmosphere of lawlessness.” The officers’ actions are made more difficult by their inability to understand whether the fireworks are legal or illegal.
“We are ready for change,” Paauw calls out to politicians. “After New Year’s Eve we always get a lot of sympathy and embarrassment about it, but then it stops. “The fireworks ban really helps.”
This New Year’s Eve, police have had to respond to riots, vandalism, arson and riots and assist emergency services. At least 200 people were arrested. And this year officers were injured again, mostly from fireworks. According to initial estimates, dozens of agents are involved.
low hearing
But calls for a nationwide ban on fireworks have so far gained little traction in national politics. The VVD, PVV, NSC and BBB parties that are negotiating the new cabinet oppose this.
These parties say it’s okay for people to throw arrows at the doorstep with their family or friends. According to them, these are often rioters who buy fireworks illegally. And this needs to be protected.
The VVD wants illegal fireworks to be brought under the Weapons and Ammunition Prohibition Act, so that penalties for violators will be higher. Detecting smuggled fireworks has a long history, according to the prosecutor’s fireworks barometer. Hundreds of thousands of kilos. But it’s impossible to keep track of everything in sheds or attics. VVD therefore also wants to make it more difficult to purchase from postal and parcel service providers and in the European context.
The BBB wants to discuss solutions other than an all-out ban with the police and talks about the “behavior problem.” Because of the use of balaclavas during the riots, the NSC is advocating for an expansion of the ban on face-covering clothing.
Paauw doesn’t have much expectations from all this. In chaotic situations, he says, it is no longer possible to distinguish between legal and illegal fireworks once lit. “And ski masks are not a new phenomenon for us.”
“What is worrying is that these groups have prepared to confront us.” But he says this is at best a blip, just like the football riots. “I want to urge politicians to worry about banning fireworks, not balaclavas.”
At the beginning of the year, things were uneasy in many cities, including The Hague:
Paauw expects more reports from police officers this year. “There have been fewer incidents, but there have been more incidents where police officers have had to deal with large fireworks.” The VVD is also calling for a ban on charity events for such violent criminals and “illegal noisemakers” this year. Even if it is their “first time” appearing before the judge.
For example, the prosecutor’s office called for an unconditional prison sentence due to the events that took place in Burdaard, Frisia, two years ago. Despite protective measures, officers suffered hearing damage from very heavy fireworks. The prosecutor’s office had requested 4 months in prison and a New Year’s ban next year for the two people who were on the “front line”. The police judge eventually ordered them to do community service.
In 2021, the House of Representatives voted to ban community service in such cases. But a year later the proposal failed in the Senate because a narrow majority believed the justices should decide the sentence themselves.
VVD hopes to get a second chance in the new House of Representatives and Senate.
Local fireworks ban
This year, some municipalities decided to ban fireworks locally. However, this ban only applies to lighting. The municipality cannot impose a sales ban. For example, this year there was a ban on burning fireworks in Nijmegen, but six stores in the city were selling fireworks legally.
Officials in Nijmegen and Wijchen were showered with heavy fireworks. Your colleagues in Enschede were supposed to help the region. A police officer was hospitalized with a broken jaw and a concussion during a fight at an entertainment venue.
The Association of Dutch Municipalities does not support local bans because they are not clear. VNG wants an enforceable nationwide ban.
“We also thought it wasn’t possible with the smoking ban,” says Paauw. “Sooner or later, as a sensitive society, we will have to ban fireworks.”
Source: NOS
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
