Strongly criticizes year old planning Cologne

cologne - A commission of inquiry in North Rhine-Westphalia has sharply criticized the actions of the authorities during the disturbances around the turn of the year in Cologne, almost fifteen months ago. Hundreds of women were then surrounded by groups of men, robbed and assaulted in many cases.

The incidents were in any case largely prevented if was immediately intervened quickly and decisively, as is the newspaper Expres in the draft report of the commission. Before that, however, lacked the overview and the necessary manpower. Those in the city of Cologne and the police deployment plan had not sufficiently taken into account experiences in previous years.

Hundreds of women were harassed in the square in front of the main train station in Cologne and robbed while units of the state police and the federal police watched. The public prosecutor in Cologne received more than 1200 reports, more than 500 of which related to sexual offenses. Of the suspects has so far only condemned a fraction, most for theft or healing.