The Binnenhof in The Hague was evacuated on Wednesday afternoon after the discovery of a suspicious package. All entrances to the square that holds the Netherlands' government and parliament buildings were blocked by police officers and Koninklijke Marechaussee. According to AD reporter Lex de Jonge, it was a false alarm.
Koninklijke Marechaussee
Sep 15 '17 10:30
The Ministry of Defense will be "under siege" from its own staff on Friday. Soldiers will block all entrances and exits of the Ministry's building in a labor action for better working conditions, the military unions announced, ANP reports.
Defense's military and civilian workers have been without a collective bargaining agreement since 2013, according to the news wire. Negotiations for a new agreement stranded in the spring. The unions rejected a final offer by the Ministry, which included a wage increase of 2 percent and money for training.
Sep 15 '17 08:21
The Dutch police still do too little to fight corruption within their own ranks, according to an investigation by the Ministry of Security and Justice's Scientific Research and Documentation Center, NOS reports.
Police officer screening is still not properly done, according to the researchers. "Ever fewer employees are subject to the heavier forms of screening", the report reads. The screening investigations are also less detailed than in the past and too few interim screenings are done.
Sep 13 '17 11:20
Press photographer Chris Keulen was arrested in Limburg on Sunday for refusing to hand over his camera and photos to the police, ANP reports. This happened while he was reporting on noise problems caused by NATO aircraft.
Keulen took photos of a local activist and an American soldier in civilian clothing coming to blows during an argument near the NATO base Geilenkirchen. After the fight, Keulen went to the police station to give a witness statement. He was asked to hand over his photos, but he refused, appealing to press freedom.
Sep 8 '17 08:26
The emergency aid for Sint Maarten is finally on its way after Hurricane Irma caused devastation on the island on Wednesday. A plane managed to land at the battered Princess Juliana International Airport and the first Dutch navy ship unloaded its emergency supplies.
Aug 21 '17 08:13
The number of people prosecuted for human trafficking in the Netherlands last year, was a quarter lower than the year before, NRC reported on Monday based on figures from the Council for the Judiciary. This does not necessarily mean that human trafficking decreased, but rather that the police are giving priority to other crimes, experts said to the newspaper.
Last year 103 people were convicted of human trafficking, compared to 139 in 2015 and 156 in 2013.
Aug 15 '17 08:30
If go-slow actions at the airports in Eindhoven and Rotterdam this week don't push the Ministry of Defense to come up with a better collective agreement for Koninklijke Marechaussee officers, labor actions at Schiphol airport may be the next step, the Marechaussee unions announced, Het Parool reports.
Aug 8 '17 08:37
A 40-year-old man from Boxtel was arrested at Schiphol airport on Saturday. The man still has to serve a 10 year long prison sentence imposed on him for a drug crime, the Koninklijke Marechaussee announced on Monday.
The man arrived at the airport on a flight from Canada. When a Marechaussee officer checked him, the officer realized that the man is wanted by the authorities for an outstanding prison sentence of 3,650 days.
Aug 4 '17 07:27
Travelers departing from the airports in Eindhoven and Schiphol today may face longer lines at the passport checks due to labor actions by the Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border protection, including at airports and harbors.
Jul 31 '17 17:00
The joint unions of Defense personnel are planning labor actions twice this week. Friday's action may result in longer than usual queues at the airports in Eindhoven and Rotterdam, ANP reports.
On Friday the Koninklijke Marechaussee will perform extra strict and thorough passport checks at these airports. This may cause longer queues and extra inconvenience for passengers. The Koninklijke Marechaussee is a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military and is responsible for border security, including at airports and harbors.
Jul 17 '17 11:10
A 35-year-old man from Haarlem was arrested by the Koninklijke Marechaussee for flying a drone at Schiphol Airport. Flying drones near the airport is forbidden, as it can put air traffic in danger, ANP reports.
With the increasing use of drones, the rules of where they can and cannot be used also increased. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment published a map showing the areas where drone flying is banned.
Jul 7 '17 08:36
Schiphol Airport is getting help from various government services as well as citizens this busy summer period, State Secretary Sharon Dijksma of Infrastructure announced on Friday. "We are doing everything to prevent repetition", she said to the Telegraaf, referring to massive crowds, delays and long lines at the airport during the May holidays.
Jul 4 '17 15:35
So-called credit card knives are an increasing problem at Schiphol. Nearly 900 of these weapons were seized at the airport over the past four months, a spokesperson for the Koninklijke Marechaussee said to RTL Nieuws.
These knives fold into the size of a bank card or credit card and can slide into a wallet. Once unfolded, the slim knife is about 6.5 centimeters long. They fall under the arms law and are therefore forbidden at the airport.
Jun 28 '17 13:20
Schiphol airport and the Koninklijke Marechaussee are preparing to start a test with facial recognition technology at passport control. The first travelers to take part in this experiment will be a limited group of people traveling from the Schengen area, with a stopover in Amsterdam, to a destination outside of the Schengen, according to AD.
Jun 27 '17 16:55
The Koninklijke Marechaussee arrested six Dutch persons in May and June after taking down an online shop for drugs. The six are suspected of running the online store, the Marechaussee said on Facebook on Tuesday.
The suspects ran the drug shop on the dark web. Drugs were sent to customers through regular parcel services, disguised as packages from other online stores.
The suspects come from Haarlem, Lelystad and Hilversum. They are between the ages of 21 and 55 years, according to the Koninklijke Marechaussee - a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military.
Jun 13 '17 13:00
The Koninklijke Marechaussee may soon be performing go-slow labor actions at Schiphol and other airports during peak summer times in protest against their new employment conditions. These actions can cause major delays during the summer peak, the unions for the armed forces announced, Het Parool reports.
Jun 9 '17 09:34
A parent or grandparent traveling with a minor child through Schiphol Airport this summer, should take extra time for an additional security check into account. The Koninklijke Marechaussee implemented an additional check in the fight against child abduction, ANP reports.
If you are a family member traveling alone with an underage child, you need the permission from both parents to do so. In this additional check, the Koninklijke Marechaussee will check whether this permission is in place for each child not traveling with both parents. This check could take some time.
Jun 1 '17 11:45
The Dutch government expects to make nearly 8 billion euros more on taxes and premiums than estimated on Budget Day last year, according to the Spring Memo sent to parliament by Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Thursday. The extra money mainly comes from VAT (€2.4 billion), corporate tax (€2.3 billion) and wage and income tax (€1.2 billion), NU.nl reports.
The Spring Memo shows the changes the government made since the budget was presented on Budget Day in September last year.
May 30 '17 12:25
A military truck driver was arrested after he crashed his truck into a traffic jam on the A7 near Middenmeer on Monday afternoon. One person was killed and another was wounded in the accident, RTL Nieuws reports.
May 24 '17 11:20
Three suspects were arrested in connection with the theft of 7 million euros worth of Apple products from an industrial terrain on Schiphol airport in December, the Koninklijke Marechaussee announced on Tuesday.
In December the suspects drove onto a Schiphol business area with a truck. They loaded the truck with 46 pallets of Apple phones and tablets before taking off. The stolen products were worth about 7 million euros.
Shortly after the theft, some of the stolen goods were listed for sale on line. Some were also found in a warehouse in Delft.
May 22 '17 07:37
The Dutch police arrested 60 people last week in a national action against roaming criminal gangs. Detainees include suspected shoplifters, drug traffickers and dealers, burglars and identity thieves, the police announced in a statement.
May 16 '17 14:25
There will be no new investigation or prosecution in the explosion of a hand grenade in a Dutch army vehicle in Afghanistan in 2010, the Public Prosecutor announced. An analysis by the Koninklijke Marechaussee - a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military - did not reveal any new facts, the Telegraaf reports.
May 3 '17 11:00
The seven suspects arrested in January in connection with a diamond heist at Schiphol in 2005, were arrested after a years-long undercover operation by the judiciary, Het Parool reports based on information from sources. The seven suspects are in court for the first time on Wednesday.
May 2 '17 16:05
The number of stowaways found trying to sneak to England by ferry and boat decreased significantly compared to last year, according to RTV Rijnmond. In the first quarter of 2017 a total of 220 stowaways were detained at Dutch ports, compared to 360 in the same period last year.
