A report stating that Amsterdam is losing the fight against organized crime led to alarmed and shocked reactions from politicians in The Hague. Parliamentarians call on the government to invest more into combating this issue, the Telegraaf reports.
The report stated that the authorities have little insight into drug economy and -crime, that the police have basically given up the fight against drugs, and that the judiciary is failing to tackle real crime structures.
Minister Sander Dakker for Legal Protection acknowledged in a parliamentary debate on Wednesday that he bears political responsibility for mistakes made in the treatment of Michael P., the man who raped and murdered 25-year-old Anne Faber from Utrecht in 2017. At the same time he asked parliament to trust him to also solve the problems. He survived the debate, NU.nl reports.
"I feel the responsibility in my every fiber", Dekker said. "One of my most important tasks is to protect society from people like Michael P."
The Dutch Rescue Brigade is extra busy this year with helping swimmers who get into trouble. In the hot period between July 2nd and August 5th, the rescue brigade responded to help swimmers 3,259 times, compared to 3,800 times in the entire summer of 2017. Director Koen Breedveld blames this mainly on decreasing swimming skills, he said to newspaper AD.
The Tweede Kamer wants to know from the Minister of Justice and Security why the police are not acting against a Russian site on which pedophiles are massively sharing photos of children, including Dutch children. On Tuesday the Belgian police launched an investigation into the site, RTL Nieuws reports.
Top officials in Dutch Ministries repeatedly interfered with research studies by the independent scientific research and documentation center WODC, according to a letter from a WODC employee in Nieuwsuur's possession. If the results of a study are unfavorable to a Ministry, the officials exert pressure to have them adjusted, according to the letter from 2014.
A Polish driver convicted of killing a toddler and her grandparents in a hit-and-run accident in Meije, Limburg four years ago, was given early release so he could return to Poland to be there when his girlfriend gives birth. PVV, SP, CDA and VVD parliamentarians are outraged by the man's release. They call for the system for early release to be changed, NOS reports.
Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice is facing criticism over a party he held in the ambassador's residence in Paris earlier this year. The main problem is that he did not pay for the venue. Parliamentarians are wondering whether Ministers should be allowed to hold private functions ont taxpayers' money, AD reports.
Dutch parliamentarians are positive about the D66's legislative proposal to automatically give unmarried fathers who acknowledge their child, parental rights for that child.
Whistleblowers at the Ministry of Security and Justice "would be crazy" to report internal irregularities, because all they will get in return is to be bullied an punished, Sjaak Jansen, former Integrity Confidant at the Ministry, said to NRC. According to him, everything at the Ministry is aimed at keeping their own slate clean.
