An extra 2,500 police officers have been drafted in after the shocking events that took place on New Year’s Eve in the northwestern German city.
Wolfgang Baldes, a Cologne police spokesman, told euronews that this was “double what we had last year.”
“We are observing the crowd with video-equipped vehicles from high vantage points,” he said. “We are well prepared.”
More than 900 people filed complaints with local police about those alleged crimes; half of those involved sexual violence.
Prosecutors have opened criminal proceedings against 50 people. Several of the suspects are asylum-seekers, which has sparked a fierce debate about Chancellor Angela Merkel’s asylum policy.
Germany’s ARD television published a poll on Thursday found 18 percent of those surveyed believe the German government has the crisis under control.
Cologne kicks over carnival season amid security fears - VIDEO
05 February 2016
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Cologne entered full party mode on Thursday as police stepped security following a series of robberies and sexual assaults on women over one month ago.
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