Weapon checks severely under pressure: Police unions to Justice Min. after double murder

The checks on gun owners are under enormous pressure due to police capacity problems, the police unions NPB, ACP, ANPV, and Equipe said to Minister Dilan Yesilgöz of Justice and Security following a double murder in Weiteveen last month. They want her to investigate whether the supervision of weapons licenses can be transferred to another agency, AD reports.

On January 16, Richard K. shot and killed the buyers of his parental home in the Drenthe village of Weiteveen and then posted a video on social media claiming he did so for fear of his family’s safety. K. was in conflict with victims Przemyslaw "Sam" Czerniawski (38) and Ineke Mussche (44) about the condition of the house. The conflict had been raging for a year, with the police intervening several times and multiple reports filed of threats, including a death threat.

As a sports shooter and hunter, K. had owned several licensed weapons. The guns he used for the murders were illegal, but experts questioned how the police had not revoked his firearms license and confiscated his guns after a year of serious incidents. The police are now investigating whether internal mistakes were made when renewing his permits.

The rules around firearm ownership in the Netherlands were tightened significantly after a mall shooting in Alphen aan de Rijn left six people dead in 2011. In 2022, the Van Dam committee concluded that little actual supervision happens in practice. The committee made several recommendations for amending the law to make it more effective. In 2020, the Court of Audit also called the control of firearm licenses inadequate.

“Practice shows that gun control is under pressure, “ Xander Simonis of the ANPV told AD. The police can’t cope with the current capacity, Nine Kooiman of the NPB added. “The Minister must investigate how we can ensure supervision or invest in sufficient people at the police, or, if necessary seek help and support from other parties, such as Defense,” Kooiman said. “They have the knowledge and skills in-house in the field of weapons.”

Justice Minister Yesilgöz told AD that she takes the police unions’ call “very seriously.” She is currently conducting a broad investigation into the weapons system. “It is good to know that the police function is currently being scrutinized. The tasks of the police are also examined, including the tasks under the Weapons and Ammunition Act. Before the law can be modernized, it must be clear whether it is properly organized as it is now.”

The Ministry of Defense declined to respond to the police unions’ call. “The Minister is currently conducting a broad investigation into the weapons system. It is, therefore, not up to Defense to respond to this now. In general terms: Defense also faces capacity problems and has many other tasks. Especially now, given the situation in the world,” the Ministry told AD.