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Cologne police have 'no leads' on sex attacks
 Police in Cologne have "no leads" on the perpetrators behind dozens of sex attacks committed against women in the western cathedral city on New Year's Eve, officials said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"At the moment we have no leads about the perpetrators," city police chief Wolfgang Albers told journalists in a joint press conference with recently-elected mayor Henriette Reker.
But he and Reker were able to clear up some details which had become muddled in the wake of the huge amount of media attention to the attacks – attention that first began on Monday, or several days after the attacks.
Police explained that a large group of 400-600 youts young men had gathered around the cathedral starting at 9pm, drinking alcohol and loosing off fireworks.
| You were expecting 'refugees' to be doing something else, like attending to their families or looking for work? |
As the group grew in number to around 1,000 people and became more unruly, police took the decision to clear them from the area – calming the situation until around quarter to one in the morning, although the men from the group were still present in numerous smaller gatherings around the city centre.
By 1am, the police commander on the ground had received several reports of sexual attacks on women. He ordered all the officers in the area to gather around the station to warn, escort and protect women into the station, while federal officers did the same inside the station.
| Notice that he didn't issue any orders to arrest anyone... |
Albers specifically countered reports that the group of sex attackers had been 1,000 strong.
"There were not 1,000 perpetrators," he said, but rather a gathering of people among whom were the perpetrators – although he could not say on Tuesday how many people were responsible.
| Nor is he ever going to find out... |
Police had been "correctly positioned" and responded quickly to news of trouble, Albers said - despite the fact that the police report issued at 8.57am on New Year's Day had spoken of a "jolly atmosphere" in the city.
Questions remain about how to prevent the same thing from happening again at large events, particularly the traditional high points of carnival season in early February.
| I can think of a couple things the police and politicians could do... |
"I am convinced that more uniformed police at large events in the city will discourage a repeat of what happened," a visibly moved Reker told reporters. "We have to make better use of the tools at our disposal."
Cologne must remain a city "in which anyone can celebrate", Reker said.
Reker insisted that there was "no evidence that we are dealing with people who have received accommodation here in Cologne as refugees."
| Reker didn't look, either... |
She added that women in the city should take steps to try and reduce the risk of being attacked – something that was quickly seized on for criticism by women online.
| You could ask the wimmin to wear burqas and to be escorted by their brothers... |
"I've noted the right behaviour manual for you: lads, don't be arseholes. Don't harass any women. You're welcome." one person wrote.
| The best behavior manual would be a knife in the ribs to each perpetrator... |
"I feel obliged to ask Henriette Reker for the behavioural manual for men at the carnival," another person tweeted.
Posted by: Steve White 2016-01-06 |
