Overview
- Police deployments have been intensified nationwide, with North Rhine‑Westphalia mobilizing 7,600 officers for New Year’s Eve operations.
- Cologne, Düsseldorf, Aachen, Bielefeld, Bochum, Bottrop, Münster and Duisburg are enforcing designated no‑firework zones in central and riverfront areas.
- NRW police are adding mobile video surveillance, and fireworks remain generally prohibited near churches, hospitals and nursing homes.
- Berlin is proceeding with a newly conceived Brandenburger Tor celebration for 25,000 people as 4,300 police officers and 1,600 firefighters stand by.
- Police leaders had urged a nationwide ban on pyrotechnics, yet the response remains a mix of local restrictions and heightened enforcement.