Criminal recruiters increasingly targeting Rotterdam teens

More and more teenagers in Rotterdam are being recruited for all kinds of crime, the board of ROC Albeda, community police officers, and the Center against Child- and Human Trafficking (CKM) told Nieuwsuur. Young people are particularly recruited to retrieve drugs from containers at the port of Rotterdam.

Where Rotterdam youth used to be guilty of things like shoplifting, younger and younger teenagers - sometimes even children - are quickly up to their necks in drug crimes nowadays, according to the program.

Community police officer Thomas Schippers has his hands full with young criminals in the Pendrecht district. “Most have no idea what the consequences are if they step into this world. If the young person thinks: I have now earned 30,000 euros by emptying a container, and that is enough, the drug world says: no, we want more of you. Professional criminals are in the neighborhood 24/7. They know where your mom lives. Or they show you a photo of your sister or brother. That is very intimidating,” he said to the program.

“We are very concerned about the problems young people face. It is impossible to keep all of it outside the school walls,” said Ron Kooren, director of the secondary vocational school ROC Aldeba. The school is trying its best - employees and students work together to create a pleasant atmosphere and a safe school. It also has a dedicated security team for specialist support.

Aldeba security advisor Rachel Tak tries to keep young students on the right track with thoughtful conversations, she said to Nieuwsuur. “We mainly focus on prevention and make all employees aware of the signals. We want to identify worrying behavior earlier and thus prevent them from being recruited. We explain to students how difficult it is to get out of crime once they’re in. And we indicate that they can always come to us; we are always there for them.”

CKM also noted an increase in criminal exploitation victims in Rotterdam. In a survey of 500 professionals, such as community police officers and youth workers, half said they had seen young people recruited into crime. Schools are often an important place for this recruitment. “This can be in vocational education or secondary schools, but even in primary schools,” researcher Sjoerd van Bemmel said.

Young people in disadvantaged neighborhoods are particularly vulnerable,” Van Bemmel said. They often feel responsible for their family's well-being and are easily recruited by criminals promising high earnings. “In recent years, we have seen a growing group of young people susceptible to criminals’ sweet talk. This group is forced into crime with soft, but also harsh means of coercion.”

Van Bemmel stressed that these teenagers are victims, not perpetrators. “We think it is important that people wonder how a 12-year-old gets drugs if the police catch him. That question is not being asked now. The real perpetrators who recruit the young people are given too much free rein.”