News item | 08-06-2022 | 07:00
Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius of Justice and Security strengthens the approach to organized crime with entrepreneurs to prevent criminals from abusing our open economy and good infrastructure. In a new Safe Entrepreneurship action program 2023-2026, agreements will be made about this with various sectors and the entrepreneurial organizations VNO-NCW and small and medium-sized enterprises MKB-Nederland. The minister is structurally investing an additional 10 million euros annually in the regional Platforms for Safe Entrepreneurship (PVOs) to increase the resilience of companies throughout the Netherlands against organized and subversive crime.
Tackling organized and subversive crime is a priority for the government. In the coalition agreement, this government is allocating considerably more money: rising to a structural amount of €100 million from 2025. This money is in addition to the annual €434 million released by the previous government on Budget Day 2021. The approach to crime is about preventing, breaking through criminal networks and revenue models, punishing and protecting. According to Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, cooperation with companies, farmers and the self-employed is essential. Various processes have already been initiated for this purpose, which the minister wants to strengthen.
Organized crime is constantly looking for ways in the upper world to launder money and to carry out illegal activities. Farmers and local residents in the countryside see criminals looking for barns to set up drug labs. Truck drivers and port staff see drug smugglers who are not afraid to use intimidation and violence to transport their illegal merchandise. And in shopping streets and industrial estates, bona fide entrepreneurs quickly see it when a new neighbor is engaged in shady business. Entrepreneurs often quickly see where criminal structures arise and can therefore clearly indicate what measures are needed. Only by working together can we prevent criminal networks from undermining our safe society and break through this,”
said Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius.
PVOs and examples to increase resilience
The 10 million euros extra per year for strengthening the PVOs comes from the Budget Day funds. The deployment of these resources will be determined in the ten regional PVOs. The police, the Public Prosecution Service, municipalities, sector organizations and companies work together to make entrepreneurs aware of the dangers of subversive crime and to take measures to prevent them from coming into contact with crime. Research conducted for new agreements in the national action program Safe Entrepreneurship 2023-2026 shows that entrepreneurs need more attention for increasing their resilience against crime.
For example, ZLTO, the agricultural and horticultural organization for agricultural entrepreneurs in the regions of South Gelderland, North Brabant and Zeeland, has started a pilot with support from the Ministry of Justice and Security for a confidential adviser in the countryside. The report on resilient farmers in vulnerable areas shows that almost 1 in 5 farmers and horticulturists have been approached by criminals who wanted to use their (empty) barns and stables for drug production and the manure pit for drug waste. 1 in 3 agricultural entrepreneurs experience this as intimidating. Farmers, horticulturists and local residents can contact the Confidential Adviser for Outdoor Safety with questions, help and suspicions of subversive crime in their area.
Also in the transport sector, entrepreneurs, their drivers and other personnel are being made more aware of drug smuggling and the associated dangers. The Transport Facilitated Organized Crime program will be scaled up by the Infrastructure Service of the National Police Unit together with the broad transport sector, including Transport and Logistics Netherlands, and the Ministry of Justice and Security to both combat and combat crime at logistics hubs. prevent drug smuggling from moving beyond the fences and walls of seaports and airports. This is done, among other things, by training transport operators and their staff to recognize suspicious situations more quickly and how to act if they encounter those situations.