The municipalities in Drenthe with an asylum seekers’ center also indicate that they experience virtually no nuisance.
Five municipalities in the province of Drenthe have an asylum seekers center. These are the municipalities of Assen, Meppel, Coevorden (in Zweeloo), Emmen, and Hoogeveen.
The reception centers differ in size. The smallest center is in Meppel, with space for 98 refugees, while Assen is the largest and can accommodate 1,500 people spread over two centers.
The municipalities of Drenthe let it be known that their experiences are consistent with the research of NU.nl. The only municipality that has experienced nuisance is Hoogeveen, where ‘at most five incidents in public space’ have taken place in the past three years, nu.nl writes. A spokesperson for the municipality of Assen says: “We do not experience that nuisance, there are no recent reports.” A spokesperson for the municipality of Coevorden says that things are going “actually very well” at the shelter in Zweeloo, and that there are no incidents.
The municipality of Emmen also experiences its asylum seekers’ center as ‘a quiet reception location’. A spokesperson for the municipality says: “The cooperation with the location is going well and there is no nuisance except for a single incident.” The Municipality of Meppel also indicates that the asylum seekers center is doing well and that there are no known incidents.
The number of cases of violence, verbal or physical, and of self-destructive actions and verbal suicide threats has decreased compared to last year. The report calls this drop ‘all the more striking’ given the fact that 38 percent more people were taken care of during that period. In addition, the report notes that there is no one-to-one relationship between the number of refugees in a reception center and the number of incidents that take place.
Regular consultations between the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA), local residents and other parties ensures that the nuisance remains limited, the municipalities tell NU.nl. Examples of measures that municipalities believe help to limit nuisance are the use of a street coach, encouraging contact between asylum seekers and other residents of the city through organized activities, and scaling up security around the asylum seekers’ centres.
Some municipalities in the Netherlands report that they experience nuisance. However, this does not concern municipalities in Drenthe.