Police defend referring child climate protestors’ families to social services

Police unions defended reporting to the child abuse reporting center Veilig Thuis about parents who bring their children to the Extinction Rebellion protests at the A12 in The Hague. "It's absolutely crazy that as a parent you don't realize that this is dangerous," said ACP chairman Wim Groeneweg on behalf of the four police unions.

About 9,000 climate protesters participated on Saturday and about a thousand on Sunday. The police reported arresting some 2,400, including dozens of minors, on Saturday and over 500 protesters, including four children, on Sunday.

The issue is that no permission has been granted for the blockades of the A12, Groeneweg explained. "We have no objection at all if parents bring their children to legal demonstrations, on the contrary, it's part of their social education. But these are illegal demonstrations, and there's a chance that the police may have to use force to disperse the protest. In doing so, parents are knowingly putting their children in a dangerous situation."

During the blockades on Saturday and Sunday, several dozens of minors were arrested, according to the police. In most cases, a report was made to Veilig Thuis. The police noted that this also happens when minors are arrested at other demonstrations.

A spokesperson for Veilig Thuis stated that all reports are investigated, but merely participating in a demonstration is "insufficient ground for reporting." "You might quickly realize that there is no immediate danger," he said about the reports made this weekend. He cannot say whether reports have been received following other demonstrations in the past. He also does not know the current number of reports. "I get the impression that it has hardly ever happened," he said.

Before the police intervene in a demonstration, they issue a warning. "But I see that parents do not comply with the order to leave," Groeneweg said. "In doing so, you are consciously putting children in danger, and we must report this. The utmost priority is not the climate, but the safety of the children."

Acting Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz stated during the weekly question time that it is "a duty of the police" to report to Veilig Thuis when a minor is arrested. "I am quite sure that if the police failed to do this, this House would not accept it," the minister said. According to her, it is then up to Veilig Thuis to decide what happens with those reports.