As the clock struck midnight many will have reflected on the challenges of last year and thought about their goals for 2022.
But for some criminals with links to Merseyside, their focus will be on avoiding capture or questioning by police.
Here's a list of people who rung in the New Year 'wanted' by Merseyside Police.
READ MORE: Shameless drug dealer used his cash and cocaine as Christmas tree decorations
Anthony Baker-Owens
The 26-year-old is sought by Merseyside Police in connection with the force's investigations into the EncroChat communications network.
Hundreds of devices loaded with the specialist software are believed to have been used by people in the region.
Police have said the encrypted messaging services was a popular tool among criminals and are attempting to unravel a web of contacts and users thought to have been active on Merseyside.
In August, Merseyside Police circulated Baker-Owens' details and identified him as being wanted in connection with alleged drugs conspiracy offences linked to EncroChat.
Baker-Owens, from Birkenhead, is still being sought.
Loi Van Tran
The 35-year-old is wanted on recall to prison.
Tran was jailed for drug production but released on a series of conditions. However, Merseyside Police said he has breached those terms and the force now wants to find him so they can place him back behind bars.
He is described as being 5ft 6” tall, of proportionate build with black hair with dark brown eyes.
He has links to the Anfield, Huyton and Garston areas of Merseyside.
Callum Hogg
Callum Hogg, 30, is wanted in connection with an investigation launched as a result of the hack of the EncroChat communications network and on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Earlier this year, Liverpool Crown Court heard he was the alleged top man of a gang that moved £8m of illicit substances in just two months.
Hogg is described as being 5ft 1in tall, of medium build, with brown hair, green eyes and missing teeth.
Jack Roach
The 18-year-old had been expected to attend a court hearing in relation to a breach of his license conditions for affray.
Merseyside Police described Roach as being 5ft 6in tall, of slim build with brown hair and blue eyes. He has links to the Woodchurch area of Wirral.
Dean McLeod
Dean McLeod, 40, is wanted in connection with a Liverpool city centre shooting.
Emergency services were called to Colquitt Street at around 11pm on May 27 after reports a man had been shot in his leg.
The victim, in his 20s, is believed to have been attacked in an apartment block before stumbling to nearby bars - leaving a trail of bloody footprints - for help.
Four men were arrested on suspicion of possession of a firearm and questioned by police before being released under investigation.
Further enquiries remain ongoing and detectives now want to speak with 40-year-old McLeod, who they believe has information which could be vital to their investigation.
Merseyside Police described him as 6ft, 3in tall with short brown hair and blue eyes. They said he is known to frequent the Speke area.
George Doyle
George Doyle who is wanted on recall to prison after breaching the conditions of his release after serving part of a sentence for a gun offence.
Doyle was found with a loaded gun after he stopped to buy a steak pie while delivering a the revolver to pay off his drug debt.
In November 2016, then 22, he was spotted by police at The Withens shops in Stockbridge Village after going between Sayers and Ladbrokes bookmakers.
Officers searched him and found a Smith & Wesson gun, containing six bullets, in a “man bag” hanging around his neck.
Doyle admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition and was sentenced to six and a half years behind bars after a judge dismissed his claim he did not know the weapon was loaded.
Now 27, police want to see him back behind bars after he breached his licence conditions.
They described Doyle as 5ft 7in, having brown eyes, short, straight light brown hair, and being of proportionate build. He is from Dovecot and has a Liverpool accent.
Kevin Rutter
The 30-year-old, from Wirral, is wanted after he breached the conditions of his release from jail.
He had been locked up for burglary but, according to Merseyside Police, has breached his licence conditions and is now wanted on recall to prison.
Rutter, who has been wanted since early November, is described by the force as being 5ft 9in tall, of slim build and with brown hair with blue eyes.
He has links to Wirral and Liverpool.
Anyone with information is advised to contact Merseyside Police by calling 101 or via Twitter (@MerPolCC).
You can also contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or online here.
