According to Wakker Emmen, the police station in Klazienaveen, which is threatened with closure, must remain open. The group tabled a motion to this effect during the council meeting.
According to party chairman Leo Hoogenberg, the news about the possible closure caused quite a bit of consternation in the village. The National Police is investigating the closure of locations throughout the Netherlands; the branch in Klazienaveen is one of the candidates.
If it comes to that, Hoogenberg does not intend to simply accept this. A police station nearby enhances the sense of security, he emphasized. Moreover, the lines with the local population are shorter and that also applies to the arrival times.
Patrick de Jonge (VVD) countered that people would rather see blue on the street than an empty police station in their village.
The Wakker Emmen foreman answered that he envisages a scenario in which agents will continue to work from the existing office. And the building will therefore not be empty.
René Wittendorp (CDA) wondered how the police themselves stand in this. Hoogenberg said in this case to start from the residents themselves. If they have an interest in it, the police may go along with it, he said.
Mayor Eric van Oosterhout acknowledges that the presence of a desk enhances the sense of security. “But don’t be fooled by it,” he added.
According to him, the office is rarely visited and the majority of the declarations are done digitally anyway. In other cases, contact is made with emergency number 112. “Moreover, the police are often on the street and there is more blue on the street in every neighborhood or village, more than 15 years ago.”
A local police base also makes little difference to the arrival times. “No police station in Klazienaveen is needed for a safe environment,” Van Oosterhout summarized.
Despite this argument, the motion received a majority. Only the SP, Hart voor Emmen, PvdA and GroenLinks voted against the proposal to keep the location open.
The municipality does not determine what the police do with their own property, but it can try to exert influence.