Rising youth debt in Netherlands linked to greater risk of drug crime, experts warn
Rising youth debt across the Netherlands is increasingly exposing young people to criminal exploitation, experts say, with both school-based recruitment warnings in Rotterdam and new national data highlighting the scale of financial distress among households, RTL reports.
At the Scheepvaart en Transport College (STC) in Rotterdam, students recently received a warning about drug crime recruitment as part of a prevention lesson led by 21-year-old Simeon, who previously spent years in juvenile detention for violent robberies. The school, which trains students for work in the port and transport sectors, is considered a target for drug criminals because of the specialized knowledge students gain.
During the session, student Noah said recruitment attempts are already occurring. “I know there are people involved with drugs here at school, and, indeed, people are being approached,” he told RTL. Simeon told students to avoid criminal money at all costs. Reflecting on his past, he added: “It is never worth it.”
The warning comes amid broader concerns over debt-driven vulnerability. Research based on Statistics Netherlands (CBS) figures, analyzed for RTL's investigation into undermining crime, shows that young people up to age 23 with debts are 13 times more likely to end up in drug-related crime than financially stable peers.
Experts say the trend is growing. Tens of thousands of young people in the Netherlands are currently in debt, and the number is increasing.
Criminologist and socio-legal scholar Marjolein Odekerken from the Verwey-Jonker Institute said financial stress significantly increases susceptibility to recruitment. “You are extra vulnerable if you have debts,” she told RTL. “For young people living in poverty or whose parents are facing financial difficulties, turning to crime can often be their only option. Young people in this situation often feel hopeless; their circumstances lead them to view crime as a means of survival."
She added that modern consumer patterns, including “buy now, pay later” services, are contributing to rising financial problems among youth. CBS data also shows increasing numbers of young people failing to pay health insurance premiums, a key indicator of financial distress.
Odekerken said criminals actively seek vulnerable targets. “Criminals know exactly which people are vulnerable. They are constantly searching for opportunities. So they deliberately look for victims; they think, "We can use them for our purposes.”
In Rotterdam, the country’s “debt capital," according to the RTL analysis, more than 3,600 young people are in debt. About one in six households in the city is also dealing with problematic debts, including unpaid energy bills or health insurance premiums. Nationwide, more than 700,000 households face similar severe financial problems.
At STC, additional guest lessons are given by former offenders and mentors such as Elisavièta Marycheva of De Nieuwe Ondernemers, who works with young people in juvenile detention to develop legal entrepreneurial skills. She joined Simeon and the experienced educator Saïd as they spoke to students about resilience and criminal recruitment.
Marycheva said financial pressure often translates into emotional pressure. “A boy in the class recently said he is actually very vulnerable. His mother has debts, and this loan would help. So you are not only financially in the red. It is mental pressure, which makes you make choices you would not make in a calm state.”
She also noted that outreach programs often struggle to retain participants, with about half dropping out. Odekerken said there is still a lack of effective programs that directly connect debt problems with criminal prevention.
