The area at and around the station in Emmen will become a safety risk area in the next six months. Council factions VVD and 50Plus had submitted a proposal on this matter, which was adopted by the municipal executive. Asylum seekers with little chance of obtaining a residence permit, so-called safelanders, have repeatedly caused nuisance at the station in recent times.
“We recognize that the feeling of safety in and around the station has come under further pressure in recent times,” the municipal executive wrote to the council in Emmen. According to the municipality, many incidents are caused by the 400 to 650 safelanders who move past the station towards Nieuw Weerdinge and the Ter Apel registration center.
By designating the station as a risk area, Emmen wants to strengthen the feeling of safety. To improve supervision and enforcement, two additional boas are temporarily deployed in the evenings. The municipality is still investigating options for structurally more enforcement around the station area.
In addition, Emmen wants officers to carry out preventive searches at the station, although the municipality still has to wait for approval from the public prosecutor. It decides whether this is proportionate to the threat level.
The municipality can already start installing better lighting and sight lines, with which it wants to strengthen safety. ‘Bottlenecks’ must also be identified by talking to local residents. Emmen also wants the quality of life to increase with more ‘green’ and other walking routes at the station.
The designation of Emmen station as a safety risk area can be reversed in the next six months if the threat to public order decreases.