A boa was beaten last week while working in Haarlemmermeer. “This is of course unacceptable,” Haarlemmermeer enforcement writes on X. “So just a reminder for everyone: hands off your emergency responders.”
The investigation is still ongoing and therefore the police are not allowed to share more information, a spokesperson tells NH. It is known that the boa is doing well under the circumstances and that the suspect has had to account for himself at the station.
“How horrible,” councilor Marjolein Steffens responds platform. “Good luck to the colleague and to all readers: hands off our care providers.”
Violence has not increased
Despite the incident, violence against boas has not increased further in recent times, according to the municipality. Haarlemmermeer attributes this to the fact that law enforcement officers in the municipality have recently been allowed to carry a baton.
From 2017, the Haarlemmermeer boas were only allowed to carry a baton at Schiphol. The years when boas did not carry a baton, the number of incidents increased. Several dozen more incidents were registered between 2012 and 2017. In 2020 and 2021, that number had increased ‘to approximately 80 per year’.
The baton has been allowed again since September until February 2029, after the Council of State ruled that insufficient account had indeed been taken of the increase in incidents of violence against boas. “That makes the work for our enforcers a lot safer,” said Mayor Marianne Schuurmans earlier.