Hoogeveen youths ‘on the run’ from the police

Run very fast, hide, get stamps and above all stay out of the hands of the police. 83 students from Eduwiek in Hoogeveen are trying to outsmart about fifteen cops and boas this afternoon. They play their own version of the popular TV show there Hunting season. Well-known Dutch people must stay out of the hands of StukTV.

They get a ten minute head start and then the enforcers set off. At the exit of the schoolyard it appears that the students have already arranged a surprise to increase their lead. They’ve locked the gate. A few officers decide to cycle straight through the bushes while others step over a hedge with their bicycles in their necks.

The students’ goal? Not being tagged by the police for over an hour and collecting stamps in three places in the meantime. But they don’t turn out to be really good. After a quarter of an hour, at least half has already been caught. “I was surrounded on all sides,” he said. Meanwhile, a girl runs straight through the small canal in the Main Street to avoid a cop.

“Yes, we’re going pretty well,” says one of the agents. “The young people don’t appear to be very good at this.” The hunt is organized by Stichting Welzijnswerk Hoogeveen.

“It is an accessible way to introduce young people to the police and the boas. And this is also just a fun game for both,” says Alinda Potze of Welzijnswerk. She is standing at one of the outposts.

The young people win if they return to school after more than an hour without being ticked off and having obtained three stamps. But only eight young people succeeded.

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