Netherlands joins Europol taskforce against criminal recruitment of teenagers
The European police service Europol is launching a major offensive to combat criminals recruiting teenagers online to commit violent crimes. Criminal organizations are increasingly using online platforms to reach children, whom they use as “cannon fodder,” Andy Kraag, the Dutch Europol chief of detectives, told the Telegraaf. The Netherlands has joined the task force.
“It is very worrying,” Kraag said. “This phenomenon is no longer exclusively a Dutch or Swedish problem. The whole of Europe is suffering from criminal organizations that offer criminal services and have them carried out by recruited young people.”
“Young people are persuaded with quick money and sweet talk or put under pressure,” Kraag said. “The average age of these errand boys is getting lower and lower. We are talking about young people of 14, 15 years old. Sometimes even younger.” And these children are used for increasingly violent crimes, including explosive attacks, robberies, or even murders.
The new Europol task force will not only focus on tracking down and arresting the young perpetrators, but especially on finding the people recruiting them and their clients. “Parents need to realize that this is not about catching children, it is about getting them back before organized crime takes them over.”
Europol also wants to talk to major social media platforms. “We need to move towards a situation where, just like in the approach to terrorism, texts with a radicalising context are removed. It must be possible to thwart recruitment for criminal jobs via these platforms.”
In addition to the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, and Norway are part of the task force.
