More protection needed at asylum reception center

Nijmegen Mayor Hubert Bruls is calling on the government to deploy the army to assist the police in the collection and guidance of asylum seekers and to provide support with the protection of reception centers. The Nijmegen Mayor said this on Radio 1, AD reports. Tent camp Heumensoord is currently being constructed in Nijmegen. It will eventually accommodate some 3 thousand refugees. According to Bruls, the additional tasks that the police and municipal health services have taken up surrounding the asylum shelter, have stretched them thin. Especially since the regular work must continue. Bruls and a number of other mayors are discussing the matter with Minister Ard van der Steur of security and Justice on Monday. Police union ANPV agrees that additional deployment is necessary. Police officers all over the country are running on empty, according to chairman Geert Priem. "It can't continue like this: the safety on the streets is in danger", he said to the newspaper. "Both inside and outside the reception centers there are an increasing number of brawls and fights. This continuously requires officers. Extra community police officers are also deployed in the neighborhoods around shelters."