Sharp decrease in robberies, more cybercrime, drug dealing
The number of robberies in the Netherlands up to December this year dropped 30 percent to 467, compared to 2022, De Telegraaf reports based on figures from the National Police. The number of cybercrime and drug dealing cases increased.
The number of robberies in the Netherlands has been falling for years. In 2012, there were still almost 2,000 robberies. Business robberies targeting things like gas stations, cash runners, and catering establishments have declined particularly sharply. That number more than halved in four years to 306 this year. The police solve about 70 percent of robberies.
The enormous decrease in robberies surprised the police, Jos van der Stap, the robberies coordinator at the National Police, told the Telegraaf. “After years of decline, we thought there would be stagnation, but that is not the case. Committing robberies has become less attractive because we pay less and less in cash,” he said. “We are seeing a shift in other forms of crime, like drug trafficking and online property crime. In the latter area, there were 80,000 cases this year.
According to figures from Statistics Netherlands, over 2.2 million people in the Netherlands fell victim to cybercrime last year, up from 1.2 million in 2018. The willingness to report these crimes is much lower than more traditional crimes, as is the chance of a case being solved.
According to Van der Stap, the professional robber is disappearing. People who rob gas stations and stores are now mostly opportunists who see a possibility to grab some quick cash. The professionals that remain are mainly focused on atm bombings, and they mostly target ATMs abroad since security around the Dutch machines has been increased.
“We have now been working closely with the banks for ten years in the fight against robbers,” Van der Stap said about the ATM Bombings. In 2019, criminals blew open 95 ATMs and got away with money in 16 percent of the cases. This year, there have only been four ATM bombings in the Netherlands. “We have developed various methods so that committing an ATM bombing no longer makes sense. The latest weapon is glue: in the event of an explosion, all the money sticks together and can no longer be used.”
So the Dutch robbers have moved abroad. Germany had 350 ATM bombings so far this year. “Dutch criminals are mainly responsible for this. There are about 500, mainly from the Amsterdam and Utrecht regions. They have built up a lot of knowledge about committing these explosive raids. We are working closely with the German police to arrest them. This year, we arrested 127 suspects for explosions in Germany and the Netherlands. There have never been so many,” Van der Stap told the newspaper.
