Parties for young people necessary for safe New Year's: Security Council head

There will need to be events for young people over New Year's, according to Hubert Bruls, mayor of Nijmegen and head of the Security Council. If there's nothing for young people to do, it will be "a very tough challenge" to guarantee safety that night, he said to newspaper AD.

"Let's not be naive and think that if we say that nothing is allowed, people will do nothing. If something does happen, it is better that it is directed and supervised by a youth worker, the community police officer or someone from the municipality. Otherwise it will be wild west and I will have to ask police and enforcers to fine all those people. In terms of enforcement, it will then be a really big challenge.

Bruls hopes that there will be clarity soon on whether or not it will be possible to organize something. He doesn't know what type of party to arrange. "Can I leave the creativity to someone else? I am not here to entertain everyone. If people want to play bingo outside or sing a bit, I leave that to them. But it must be small-scale."

The police agree that activities for young people are a good idea. "Of course it helps if there are activities for the youth," police chief Aart Garssen of the Gelderland-Zuid police said to the newspaper. "That also became apparent in the other years. Everything will be different this year. Although we do not yet know what will be allowed. Despite the fireworks ban and the distance rules, the police deployment will not be less. It remains very strong."

The Security Council consists of the mayors that head the 25 security regions in the Netherlands. The security regions are responsible for local safety and public order, among other things.