The municipality of Coevorden and the police consciously chose not to deploy extra officers during the disturbances in the Tuindorp district last July. Additional deployment would have meant that regular police tasks would have come under pressure. Moreover, the thought was that long-term police deployment would not restore peace to the neighborhood.
After a week of unrest, the municipality decided not to provide shelter for fourteen minor status holders in the neighborhood. Experts are critical of the state of affairs.
Mayor Renze Bergsma indicated that he could not guarantee the safety of the girls to be cared for and was therefore reversing the plans. The dilemma about long-term police deployment played a role in this, as documents in the possession of RTV Drenthe now show.
In a confidential memo, the province of Drenthe writes about the direct reason for the decision not to allow the reception to continue. According to the province, this was due to ‘some serious disturbances in the previous days, as a result of which safety at the location in question could no longer be guaranteed’. An official from the municipality of Coevorden responds that that description is incomplete. Police capacity and the possible further escalation of the situation also played a role.
“For example, police capacity for the weekend still had to be arranged and brought in from other units. There were also signals that the situation would escalate further (possibly with the use of heavy fireworks and arson of the building in question). Bearing in mind that the goal was to safely place fourteen underage girls, this was not feasible,” the official wrote.
From 2 to 7 July, an emergency ordinance applied in Tuindorp due to unrest surrounding the arrival of a reception center for minor status holders. There was a ban on taking flammable materials and carrying objects that could be used as weapons. Potential disruptors were no longer allowed in the neighborhood.
Coevorden planned to intervene. In a chat message on July 2, the mayor wrote to councilors and officials that he planned to tackle any rioters.
“But there are also serious signals of new preparations for (serious) disturbances. After consultation with the triangle, I have therefore decided to preventively announce an emergency ordinance. Unfortunately, it is necessary. We will therefore also take firm action with the police and possibly riot police if there is reason to do so,” Bergsma wrote.
However, people still gathered after the ordinance was announced. Items were collected on a lawn and set on fire. The Mobile Unit was ready a few streets away, but only took action when the fire was burning. Police officers entered the neighborhood with the fire brigade so that they could safely extinguish the fire.
Meanwhile, there were signs that the situation could get out of hand. “In addition, there was a real chance of more serious escalations, with greater risks of injuries,” a municipal official wrote.
Under pressure from the protests, Mayor Renze Bergsma announced on July 4 that the shelter would no longer be available. In the days before, demonstrators set cars and trailers on fire, pelted police officers with eggs and made threats against the future shelter. Ultimately, no one was prosecuted for the unrest in Tuindorp.
It now appears that the mayor was faced with a dilemma regarding the available police capacity. It remains unclear whether that was the deciding factor. However, Coevorden’s decision does create a dangerous precedent, says Marcel Boogers, professor of democracy at Utrecht University.
Boogers: “A decision by a democratic majority will then lose out to a violent minority. Others may now also consider using violence when they do not get their way. That is not what you want in a democracy.”
It is remarkable that the police hardly intervened, says police scientist Jaap Timmer of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. “There is a reason for this emergency regulation. If you do not enforce it, everyone can simply frustrate the policy. That is of course not the intention,” says Timmer. The fact that no one was arrested after the violent demonstrations is also frustrating, according to Timmer. “Then you send the message: go ahead, because it has no consequences.”
The emergency ordinance was supposed to apply until July 10, but doubts soon arose as to whether the police had enough officers to enforce it. “The question was also whether sufficient capacity could be made available for the weekend to enforce the emergency ordinance,” writes a municipal official. It remains unclear whether Coevorden has submitted a request for more police deployment.
