The emergency services had to deal with fewer incidents during the New Year celebrations compared with previous years, justice minister Ivo Opstelten said on Thursday.

In addition, there has been a shift from ‘serious crimes’ to public nuisance incidents, Opstelten said.

Preliminary figures show police registered 8,236 incidents, a drop of 2% compared with January 1 last year. There were also fewer attacks on emergency service workers – 93 as opposed to 108 last year, Opstelten said.

‘The downward trend is the right direction but of course I am still not satisfied,’ Opstelten said. ‘What has happened is unacceptable.’

Fires

Meanwhile, Alkmaar’s mayor Piet Bruinooge has called for a nationwide ban on fireworks, following a major fire in the town’s city centre.

Four buildings were destroyed and a further four seriously damaged in the blaze, which took hours to get under control and was probably caused by a firework.

Nevertheless, there is far from majority support for a ban in parliament, broadcaster Nos reported.

Elsewhere, two primary schools in the town of Uden were destroyed and the spire of a church in Zeeland collapsed after a blaze.

The fire brigade say they received reports of 4,253 fires during the festivities, down 25% on a year ago.