Criminals who use brute force in Rotterdam are recruited younger and younger

It is in the middle of summer, just before half past three in the morning, when fifteen bullets are fired at a house on the third floor in Rotterdam-North. Neighbor Toon Holl wakes up, gets out of bed and stumbles to his balcony at the front of his house. He looks into the wide street with tall old trees. He sees nothing.

One of the bullets pierces a downstairs neighbor’s window, behind which a nine-year-old girl is sleeping. Now there is a wooden board in front of the bullet hole. “They are finally coming to fix the window next week,” her father says. The bullet bounced off the inner wall and fell on his daughter’s bed. She found the bullet when she got into bed at night. Her father put it in the closet and took it to the police station a few days later. “He was not picked up.”

The man at the door of the house on the third floor for which the bullets appear to be intended, says the shooting is related to “a relative”. He doesn’t want to say anything more about it. “I let the police do their job.” He is not afraid. “You live in Rotterdam and then something like this can happen.”

It was a summer full of shelling and explosions in Rotterdam. House after house came under fire, or an explosive was attached to the doorknob. Within five days in July, it hit seven places in and around the city. It has a lot of impact, especially on the residents of the affected houses and the neighbors. People are afraid that a stray bullet will hit themselves or their children. It can hit just like that – every night.

From an analysis by the police, shared with NRC, it appears that about a quarter of the attacks on houses in Rotterdam this summer are related. These are family members of a professional criminal, who presumably did not pay for a batch of drugs, according to sources within the investigation. It fits in with a national trend: criminals are increasingly using homemade explosives to attack homes, NRC reported earlier. The mayor of Rotterdam Ahmed Aboutaleb said at the beginning of October that family members more and more the target are from shelling: for example, a criminal tries to intimidate a business partner.

Expensive sneakers

In Rotterdam there are great concerns about the people who shoot at the houses or hang an explosive on them, according to sector heads of the police Wietske Straathof and Wim Hoek. Straathof has the youth portfolio, Hoek excessive violence. They see that criminals who use excessive force are being recruited at an increasingly younger age, and they fear that young people are more likely to get stuck in the Rotterdam criminal environment. Wim Hoek: “It often concerns vulnerable young people for whom the quick money is attractive but who do not understand the consequences of their actions.”

Wietske Straafhof: „They are young and look at the short term. That expensive coat, sneakers or telephone that others have, they want them too.”

It often concerns vulnerable young people for whom the quick money is attractive

Their concerns are supported by numbers. This year, the age group up to 23 years was involved in 40 percent of all serious violent incidents, such as liquidations and attacks on houses with explosives or automatic weapons. In recent years, that has fluctuated around 30 percent. This is apparent from the analysis made by the Rotterdam police.

Also read: After an explosion in front of the door, a catering tent often also has to close

The shelling of the buildings in July was done with various firearms; sometimes automatic weapons were used, sometimes pistols as well. The most commonly used explosive was a homemade bomb made from heavy fireworks. In 2015, there were 67 shooting incidents in the city, in 2022 – through October – 116, police figures show. The number of times an explosive was used doubled compared to 2021. Those involved estimate that young people receive about 2,000 euros for their job and are supplied with the weapons.

Shooting a house is an effective method. You draw the police’s attention to a competitor in the drug trade. There is a chance that the house will be closed and your opponent will get into trouble. That often leads to payments, because the target doesn’t want any more trouble.

Digital recruitment

According to the sector heads, young men are an attractive target group to recruit. “They are often approached for a specific part,” says Wietske Straathof. “For example, arranging a getaway car, shooting at a house or mounting an explosive in a porch. They rarely know the real client, because the contacts go through intermediaries.”

The digital world plays a big role, she says. “These young people are all connected through social media – Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Telegram. We think they are often approached that way.” That is different from the past, when young people hanging around on a square were approached. “That is still happening. But phones have a big advantage: recruiting is easier, faster and more anonymous.” It also ensures that the group of boys who are willing to shell a house has grown, says Wim Hoek. “As a criminal, you can approach young people from all over the city.” Wietske Straathof: “Peaceful pressure plays a major role. One does it, then has something to spend. The other thinks: ‘I want that too!’”

It is a strange sensation for police officers. Sometimes they are literally after teenagers after a shooting. Straathof: “You are even more careful with children. One of the parents may be present during an interrogation. You are less likely to let them spend the night in the cell.”

Hoek: “In the end it doesn’t matter much. You want to get them out of the environment as soon as possible.”

Anyone who steps out is seen as a snitch, traitor. You can’t sink any deeper within the street culture

The question is how to protect young people from crime. Once in that world, it’s hard to get out – they’re used to the thrill and the money. In addition, someone who steps out is seen as snitchtraitor. You cannot sink any deeper within the street culture.

Straathof and Hoek expect the most from intensive cooperation between civil society organisations. Youth workers and community officers who know the target group can adjust young people in good time. In a few cases they can discreetly assist someone who is in the world and wants to get out. But then they have to gain the trust of such a person. Years of cutbacks to community centers, community centers and youth work have resulted in less visibility on young people. In recent years, a lot of effort has been put into youth work in Rotterdam.

Straathof: “There are youth workers who can really be a role model. Sometimes they come from that world themselves but know that it brings little good. Sooner or later justice will come your way and you will be behind that thick door.”

Also read: Great fear of a mistaken attack in the idyllic ‘Boef en Haag’

It is often powerless

Perhaps even more important than youth workers are the parents, confirm Hoek and Straathof. Hoek tells about families in which parents have no idea what their children are up to. “Some parents are not interested. But most of the time it is not unwillingness. Often it is powerlessness. I also see parents who have two jobs and work long hours to pay all the bills. You can’t blame them for not being able to see their adolescents.”

Thomas Schippers, community police officer in Rotterdam-Pendrecht, invests a lot in contacts with parents. “Parents, usually the mothers, are the linchpin in a family. They see a lot. Often they have the feeling that something is not right, but they do not know where to go with their concerns. If they know and trust me, they dare to call me. That is always possible.”

He works closely with a group of mothers who have united in the ‘Unwise Mothers Pendrecht’. The initiator was Roshnie Girdhari, who noticed in the schoolyard that mothers had questions and problems. And that not everyone speaks Dutch well. “Together we are stronger”, was Girdhari’s idea. “Mothers can learn from each other.”

There was a lot of enthusiasm for the mother group, which now meets weekly. Neighborhood officer Schippers usually comes too. Schippers and Girdhari sometimes invite an expert to inform the mothers about drug use, game addiction, domestic violence and crime. Rounding is also discussed. Of course, as parents you don’t know everything about your child, says Roshnie Girdhari. “But look what your child is up to behind the laptop. If you have any concerns, discuss them with your son or daughter. If they go out with friends, keep asking. “Who exactly?” ‘Where to?’ ‘What are you going to do?’” Look at your child’s clothes and new stuff, she says. “If your son suddenly wears expensive sneakers without a side job, all alarm bells should go off.”

The father of the nine-year-old girl who got a bullet through her window wants to move as soon as possible. “We have requested urgency. We have lived here well, but it just doesn’t feel safe anymore.”

Read alsoThis column by Arjen van Veelen about American conditions in Rotterdam

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