The COA aims to spread the group of nuisance safelanders in the asylum seeker center in Ter Apel to other locations in the Netherlands by January. In this way, the current group of around 150 people will become a lot smaller. The nuisance caused by this group in Ter Apel (Westerwolde) and Nieuw-Weerdinge (Emmen) should therefore decrease. The municipality of Emmen itself also expects to have increased the number of street coaches and boas in Nieuw-Weerdinge by Christmas.
Mayor Eric van Oosterhout announced this news during the budget meeting of the municipality of Emmen.
Several factions urged more deployment of police and military police. The hope was aimed at setting up a special shelter in the asylum center in Ter Apel. These safe landers would be referred more quickly to their country of origin via this so-called process availability location (PBL). However, its realization took some time.
“This is partly due to the staff capacity in the asylum seekers’ center,” Van Oosterhout explained. Very annoying, as the number of incidents seems to be increasing rather than decreasing, according to the mayor. In addition, the cooperation between boas, street coaches, police and supervisors is not always well coordinated, he further reported.
On the other hand, Van Oosterhout was able to report that COA will work on distributing the safelanders to other locations in the Netherlands. The profit warning is that other municipalities must cooperate. The mayor expects that COA will come up with a distribution plan by January.
The municipality of Emmen itself plans to increase the number of boas and street coaches. In the first case this involves eight additional forces. “It takes some time as far as the boas are concerned. The training lasts eight to twelve weeks and they still have to be sworn in.” In the most recent conversation with the government, Van Oosterhout was promised that real work is now being done on the PBL. “First see, then believe,” said the mayor.
The majority of the factions insisted that the municipality in The Hague should ask for more support from the police and military police. Van Oosterhout is in discussions with the latter. “But don’t expect large numbers there. But the pressure is there.”
Group chairman Leo Hoogenberg of Wakker Emmen thought that the alarm had been raised for a long time without any concrete results being achieved. “In recent months, State Secretary Eric van der Burg has visited Nieuw-Weerdinge and Ter Apel several times, but these visits and the resulting measures have also had little or no effect.”
According to him, the current resources of the municipality itself (street coaches and expanded supervision) were inadequate. Mayor Eric van Oosterhout was therefore asked to urge the government to have more blue people on the streets. A motion was therefore submitted together with PvdA, PVV, VVD, SP and 50PLUS.