The damage to municipal property in The Hague during the 2024-25 New Year’s Eve amounted to almost 372,000 euros. That is over 11,000 euros less than a year earlier. Furthermore, the police registered a total of 165 incidents in The Hague on that evening. These included (reports) of a shooting, assault, fighting, vandalism, stabbing and setting off illegal fireworks.
This was included in the 2024/2025 New Years Eve report presented to The Hague Municipal Council today. Preliminary figures were already released in early January however this evaluation contains the final figures, which show adjustments in two areas. Earlier, damage to municipal property was still estimated at around 300,000 euros and the provisional number of incidents recorded by the police at the beginning of January was 103.
The municipality takes numerous preventive measures prior to New Year’s Eve to ensure that celebrations are as festive as possible. Although there was a decrease in the number of incidents and municipal costs due to vandalism last New Year’s Eve, the damage to The Hague remains too high, according to the Municipal Executive. “In all cases, violence and destroying other people’s property is unacceptable. Especially on a night like New Year’s Eve, a party night when wishing each other luck and prosperity should be paramount,“” said Mayor of The Hague Jan van Zanen.
Prevention
Preparations for the coming New Year’s Eve always start immediately after the previous one. Partly on the basis of past New Year’s resolutions, risks are determined together with emergency services and measures are taken to prevent damage, nuisance and injuries in the city as much as possible. In all districts of The Hague, residents and entrepreneurs volunteered to help the city in various ways in the run-up to and during the turn of the year.
In addition, 800 members of the neighbourhood prevention teams were active across the city in the run-up to the turn of the year. On the night itself, 670 members were active with surveillance – in consultation with the police and the municipality, they provided extra ears and eyes in the neighbourhoods. They reported suspicious situations, as well as broken lights, loose stones and flammable material. They spoke to neighbourhood residents about risks and consequences of setting off illegal fireworks and nuisance behaviour. On several occasions, they helped prevent excess damage.
Many measures were also taken to prevent damage in the city, such as placing temporary camera surveillance, extra lighting, protecting or removing waste bins, sealing underground containers, playground equipment and providing safe parking spots for car owners. Substantial efforts have also been made to clean up public spaces before the turn of the year, for instance by removing (or having removed) flammable material and loose stones.
Recovering municipal damage
Vandalism is illegal and therefore attempts are always made to recover damage to municipal property where an offender is known. The municipality has reported the damages. No perpetrators are known as yet. It is therefore not yet possible to say whether and if so how many damages can be recovered.
More information (in Dutch): https://denhaag.raadsinformatie.nl/document/15352943/1/RIS321708+Evaluatie+jaarwisseling+2024+2025?connection_type=17&connection_id=11707660
Source: Gemeente Den Haag.
Translation: DeepL + The Hague Online
Image: https://pixabay.com/photos/fireworks-pyrotechnics-explode-1880045/