The number of reports of unsafe situations to the confidential counselor Safe Outside Area of LTO Noord has increased. More than a hundred reports were made in 2025, compared to thirty-one the year before.
This mainly concerns reports about fraud, suspicious situations and burglary.
It is obviously not good that farmers and residents of farms in rural areas have to report. But confidant Gaby de Ruiter is still happy that, if necessary, they are increasingly able to find her.
In December 2023, De Ruiter will start as a Safe Outdoor Area confidential counselor at LTO Noord. “I have worked hard on our visibility. Provided a lot of information in the nine provinces in which LTO North is active. And I notice that when I have been somewhere, reports come more quickly from that area,”
According to De Ruiter, the increase in the number of reports says nothing about whether crime has increased. “It’s more that they know where to find us better now.”
According to the confidential counselor, the goal is that – if a report requires it – she will ultimately put the person involved in contact with the correct police department.
When asked whether it would not be more convenient for farmers to immediately call the police in an unsafe situation, De Ruiter answers: “The difference with the police is that I am available seven days a week.”
At the police station they are sometimes on hold for twenty minutes. And sometimes they are quickly told that the police cannot do anything for them. We are often a little more accessible for farmers to approach.”
De Ruiter has worked for the police for many years and says he knows how to quickly switch between the right people.
In the meantime, the confidential counselor is not sitting still. She expects more reports in the coming year. And LTO itself will focus more on cybercrime.
De Ruiter gives an example of clicking on ‘wrong’ links in an email – also called phishing. “Or suppose you have a milking robot with two hundred cows. If, for example, the Wi-Fi network is down, the robot will no longer do anything. What then?”
“And also with the increasing unrest in the world. For example, if the power grid is down for three days, are you prepared for that as a farmer?”
