Public Prosecution Service will use traffic cameras to investigate farmers' waste dumping

The police and the Public Prosecution Service (OM) will use the images from Rijkswaterstaat's highway cameras to investigate serious criminal offenses that endanger road safety. "Like the actions and demonstrations on highways recently," the East Netherlands OM reported on Friday.

There have been several incidents on the roads during farmer actions in recent days. For example, a motorist ran into dumped waste on a ramp to the A32 near Meppel-Noord on Wednesday. As a result, the car was totaled.

The call for the use of the highway cameras therefore grew louder, but Rijkswaterstaat previously reported that the images are not being saved. The East Netherlands OM reports that it has "now been made possible" to secure images in collaboration with the police and Rijkswaterstaat. "These images can be used (in retrospect) for the determination of criminal offenses and the investigation thereof."

President of the Board of Procurators General of the OM Gerrit van der Burg said on Friday evening on Op1 that Rijkswaterstaat will still not record the images, but that there is "a connection with the police," who can secure the images. It is unclear whether the images of the actions of recent days can be used.

Most recently, farmers dumped rubbish in 14 places on roads and highways throughout the Netherlands on Thursday night. A 42-year-old man was arrested for dumping on the A18 near Westendorp, according to Omroep Gelderland.

On Friday, several farmers appeared with their tractors to help clean up the mess. Cattle farmer Ronald Wolters from Lievelde, who was involved in the cleanup, told Omroep Gelderland that he saw the rubbish dumping as an act of desperation.