More than 60 arrests
The Brussels police also made dozens of arrests on New Year’s Eve, the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, according to an initial report released during the night. Between 6 p.m. and midnight, the police had to intervene more than 300 times.
Before midnight, the police had already made 64 administrative and judicial arrests. It was the West (24 administrative and 3 judicial) and Midi (19 administrative and 2 judicial) police zones which reported the most arrests.
The police also intervened 352 times, for incidents relating to normal service and New Year festivities, throughout the evening (between 6:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m.). It was also the police zones of the West and Midi districts which were the most requested with nearly 200 interventions (93 West and 73 Midi).
Fireworks ban and curfew
Note that on New Year’s Eve, young people under 16 in the Cureghem district could only go out accompanied by a parent or guardian.
The police deplore that despite the order of Minister-President Rudi Vervoort, fireworks were still used. The police of the Brussels-Capital Ixelles zone reminded again on Tuesday in view of the festivities that the sale, possession and use of firecrackers and fireworks were prohibited throughout the Brussels-Capital region. Offenders risked being fined, local police insisted.
