Police arrested 642 people during the New Year festivities and 187 remain in jail, junior justice minister Fred Teeven said on Saturday afternoon.

In total, there was a 25% drop in ‘incidents’ but a 20% increase in arrests, Teeven said.
More people were arrested because police were quicker to intervene and due to the zero tolerance policy, he said.
Courts
Fast-track courts will operate in The Hague and Rotterdam on Monday to process a number of cases. On Tuesday, they will be held in Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague again.
Of the 642 people arrested, 115 were picked up for attacking emergency service workers and and face much longer sentences.
But a spokesman for the regional fire brigade chiefs said there were fewer serious attacks on fire officers ‘and that is positive’. In eight incidents, police and riot police were called in to aid fire officers.