Home >> WorldWire >>World News >> German Police Criticized Over NYE Racial Profiling
Details

German Police Criticized Over NYE Racial Profiling

The chief of police in Cologne, Germany scrambled to defend his department Sunday against accusations of racial profiling after cops detained hundreds of North African men during New Year’s celebrations.


“I reject this negative criticism,” Police Chief Juergen Mathies told reporters.


“The clear aim was to prevent similar events to previous year.”


The crackdown came a year after more than 2,000 men — including dozens of foreign nationals — sexually assaulted hundreds of women across Germany on New Year’s Eve, including more than 600 women in Cologne.


The attacks set off a national debate about Germany’s influx of refugees, and anti-immigration groups pointed to the crime spree as a reason for Germany to pull back on its open-door migration policies.


As part of an effort to avoid a repeat of the holiday horrors, Cologne police this year detained more than 600 men who hailed from North African countries — or who appeared to.


The police department tweeted that it detained men who were “seemingly of African descent,” sparking accusations online that the force profiled the men solely for their race or appearance.


Mathies said nearly all of the men detained overnight were from North Africa, and that their “characteristics were such that potential crimes could indeed be expected.”



It remains unclear if any were suspected or charged for alleged crimes.


New Year’s Eve in Cologne ended with about 100 arrests for approximately 160 crimes, including nearly a dozen instances of sexual assault or harassment.


Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker said she was “happy and relieved” that the night ended without the catastrophic crime levels of the year before.


A leaked police report revealed that more than 1,200 women were sexually assaulted in German cities on New Year’s Eve in 2015. Of the more than 2,000 men who allegedly attacked the women, only 120 suspects had been identified by the middle of 2016.


German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced renewed scrutiny over the country’s migrants in December after a Tunisian man who was denied asylum rammed a truck into a Christmas market, killing 12 people. The killer, 24-year-old Anis Amri, escaped to Italy and was shot and killed by Milan police days later.


Technical Support: jzabc | Admin Login
seo seo