News item | 22-02-2023 | 07:00
In the Gorzen district of Schiedam, an apprenticeship for young people is being set up with the help of confiscated criminal assets. This is the first project of the government’s agreement in the coalition agreement to reinvest money stolen from criminals more often in neighborhoods where those criminals were active. Thanks to cooperation between the Public Prosecution Service (OM) and the Central Government Real Estate Agency with the Ministries of Justice and Security, Finance and Social Affairs and Employment, the proceeds from a number of seized buildings will not go to the state treasury this time, but will be invested in the livability of the neighbourhood.
After the conclusion of the coalition agreement, Minister of Justice and Security Yesilgöz-Zegerius started work on social reallocation. The Public Prosecution Service already had its eye on suitable confiscated premises from criminals to reallocate the property, or as in the Schiedam district, the proceeds from it, in the same environment. The mayor and aldermen of Schiedam agreed this week to realize the project for social repurposing together with the Public Prosecution Service and the district.
“The damage that criminals cause to our society is great. Violence and shootings in the street, explosives thrown through the letterbox and intimidation mean that residents no longer always feel safe in their own neighbourhood. That is why we invest heavily in the fight against organized crime. Extra nice if we can give back to society that money taken from criminals and everything they want to show off – from expensive clothing, cars to buildings. We do this, among other things, by investing the proceeds in the quality of life in our neighbourhoods. We show that crime doesn’t pay.”
said Minister Yesilgöz-Zegerius.
Structural arrangement
Work is underway on more projects in which assets confiscated from criminals are used for a public purpose. Preferably in neighborhoods that suffer or have suffered from crime. For example, investments are made in offering socio-economic opportunities at a local level, which also counteracts undermining crime. This concerns buildings, such as in Schiedam, but it can also concern goods seized by the government that are now stored and can be used in social and/or learning projects. This concerns, for example, cars, furniture and tools.
Minister Yesilgöz-Zegerius wants to make a structural arrangement based on the experience gained in the projects, which will make it easier for public reallocation from now on. It now takes a lot of time to arrange this separately with all parties involved, because there is no fixed arrangement for this yet. An initial amount of EUR 2 million will be allocated to the scheme this year, increasing to an amount of EUR 5 million per year from 2025.
Chief Public Prosecutor Hillenaar of the Rotterdam district public prosecutor’s office:
“In 2017, as OM Rotterdam, we already gave a boat confiscated from drug criminals to the Shipping and Transport College in Rotterdam. By once again donating criminal property to society, it becomes clear to everyone that criminals are far from invincible. In Italy, the social repurposing of property obtained through crime has been established for some time and has been a huge success there. I hope that the project in Schiedam will be followed in many more places in our country. Crime does not pay, but in this case an entire neighborhood in Schiedam does benefit!”
Schiedam
In Schiedam, residents from the De Gorzen district are working on how best to set up the learning workplace for young people. Several residents have already indicated that they would like to work with the youth to transfer their expertise. We discuss with them which facilities are needed for this.
Mayor Lamers of Schiedam:
,,Crime does not pay. We bring the proceeds of the criminal property back into the neighborhood by investing in our young people. We offer them a place where they can work on themselves under good supervision. We would like to use the expertise and skills of local residents to give young people more prospects for the future and to make them more resistant to the temptations of crime.”