BERLIN (Sputnik) — Women's Carnival Day, celebrated with colorful parades, will be held in the city on Thursday.
"Some 2,000 police officers, twice more than last year, will work on the Women's Carnival Day," Jurgen Mathies said.
He added that 350 police recruits will also participate in policing the streets.
The decision comes as the criminal situation in the city remains tense after hundreds of women in Cologne were robbed and sexually assaulted on New Year's Eve by groups of aggressive men, believed to be mostly of Arab and North African origin.
Germany has been the key destination for thousands of refugees and immigrants coming to Europe since the start of 2015. Last year, the country registered over a million asylum applications, nearly five times more than the number registered in 2014, according to the interior ministry’s estimates.
