Transport company Arriva is going to intervene heavily in the station area in Emmen. From Monday, the company will carry out strict checks on tickets every day for four weeks, from 12 noon to 8 p.m. Anyone who does not have a valid ticket will not be allowed to board the train and must leave the station immediately. Arriva speaks of a zero tolerance policy. A measure that, according to Mayor Eric van Oosterhout, helps to reduce nuisance in and around the station.
The announcement was made during the discussion of the municipality’s safety plan. And various factions were critical of this. During the discussion of the new safety plan, Wakker Emmen, VVD and D66 mayor Eric van Oosterhout were put to the test on this theme.
Although Emmen is officially one of the safest municipalities in the Netherlands, the feeling of insecurity is increasing, several factions noted. The station area, Nieuw-Weerdinge and Angelslo in particular are mentioned as problem locations. Wakker Emmen councilor Matthijs Katerbarg believes that the municipality is operating far too conservatively.
Improving lighting and additional cameras are not groundbreaking and proven measures, he says. “And moreover, the station area has not become safer at all in the recent period.” He sees the fact that the area may be designated as a safety risk area as a step forward. “But what does the municipality do if that turns out not to be enough?”
Wakker Emmen also continues to insist on equipping boas with a short baton. “But to our surprise, the safety plan only mentions an investigation into that option,” said Katerbarg. “We called for it to actually be done.”
Patrick de Jonge (VVD) pointed out that the mayor previously promised to come up with a proposal for expanding the boa team in February, including financial support. When Van Oosterhout indicated that he wanted to do this in the framework letter towards the summer, De Jonge responded resentfully: “You would do this in February, not four months later.”
Van Oosterhout stated that the framework letter is the ‘golden road’ for financial proposals, but said he would like to deliver the proposal earlier if the council so wishes.
D66 member Joey Koops also criticized the plan. According to him, symptoms are being combated, especially in the station area. In the area, homeless shelters, healthcare institutions and shelters for Ukrainians are all clustered together, he says. “Distribute those agencies better.” He also advocates actively involving residents in the safety approach.
Van Oosterhout defended himself by emphasizing that the municipality does a lot to keep an eye on the feeling of safety. The subject is regularly discussed during rounds to district and village councils, and in addition, two hundred conversations have been held with residents.
Intensive consultations with residents, police and the Public Prosecution Service will follow this month for the station area. Discussions with the public prosecutor include the possibility of preventive searches. In addition, extra police officers, boas and private security guards are deployed in Nieuw-Weerdinge. The municipality recently received half a million euros from the government for this purpose.
However, the measures cannot completely remove the current pressure, Van Oosterhout acknowledges. As long as hundreds of safe havens move between Emmen station and the asylum seekers’ center in Ter Apel every day, it will remain a difficult situation, he says.
Arriva’s extra efforts should help to partly reduce the nuisance. Because Emmen station has no entrance gates, the area is completely freely accessible. Arriva has previously indicated that it experiences a lot of inconvenience on the Emmen-Zwolle line, especially due to travelers without a valid ticket. In general, these are all safelanders.
In the meantime, the municipality is also in discussions with Qbuzz about the problems on the asylum bus to Ter Apel.