From commitment to council meetings about the arrival of asylum seekers’ centers to football matches: the pressure on the Mobile Unit (ME) of the police is great. This is partly due to the increasing tensions in society, drug use and disinformation, sees ME-commander Frans Luijten. “It is sometimes very frightening.” Last weekend a hundred ME’ers managed to prevent an attack on an AZC in Den Bosch. In the meantime, the Dutch police association and police chief Oost-Brabant are concerned about the capacity of the police.
Frans Luijten is a commander at the ME in East Brabant and is used throughout the country: from missing to demonstrations. “You notice that the wicks are getting shorter, that people are incorrectly informed by disinformation and that drug use increases violence. Let’s keep talking,” he says.
Me people are ordinary agents
Luijten, who has been with the ME for about 26 years, was mainly used in football matches in the early years. Agents who sit with the ME do that in addition to their daily police work. “During picket services we were never actually called. That has been different lately. A number of times a month I have to drop my work or leave home and fireplace because we are needed.” And according to him, that is due to tensions in society.
“We are being used more and more often. Often that is also preventive. On social media and in app groups, people whip each other, so we have extra work on it.” That happened last Saturday at the AZC at the Pettelaarpark in Den Bosch for example. About a hundred agents of the ME were present there, because there were signs that protesters would prepare a storm for the AZC. In the end, a confrontation was not forthcoming.
The pressure on the mobile unit is great. Agents also notice that in their daily work. With every bet at least 24 ME people are needed, in addition, extra support must come to the police station. But every ME’er also has a different task, such as local police officer, emergency aid or animal police. So with a deployment of the ME, those other tasks come to a halt. “The 112 work is always going on, but the local police officer is sometimes not available for a day. That is annoying, because you want to be ready for everyone. But if there is unrest then that is not possible.”
Response Police Chief
The new police chief of East Brabant, Sjoerd Top, is concerned about the use of the ME. “I have a lot of respect for them. They have to perform at night and dehij, often in an unknown environment,” he tells Omroep Brabant. “The use of the Mobile Unit ensures that ‘normal’ agents are collected from their daily work. The emergency aid is never in danger,” he emphasizes.
There was also a group of ME’ers from the east of Brabant at the riots in The Hague. “Fortunately, the colleagues were ready, but the amount of violence was not normal.”
Luijten sees that the violence against the ME is increasing. According to him, this is due to disinformation, so that people are completely ‘raised’ and through drug use. “The window of a ME bus is made of plastic, which should be able to have a lot,” says the ME-commander. “But because it is sometimes so intense, we have already had to apply an extra reinforcement. The window sometimes just goes out.”
Hearing damage
For example, the riots after the PSV championship and also a week and a half ago in The Hague were attacked and bombarded with heavy illegal fireworks and stones. “That is very frightening. If you are in the front and hit them on your window, it is really very close. Then you hope to be able to trust the material of the bus.”
Luijten still suffers from a beep in his ear more than four months after the PSV championship. “I suffered hearing damage there. It should actually be a party, but we were bombarded with explosives. That is really very intense. We can hardly arm ourselves against that.” In fact, ME’ers are afraid that a Cobra will be stuck in their suit and then explodes.
Listen
Because of a Cobra who went next to Luijten, he now has to live with a beep. “It is also intense for the home front. I always give my little son an extra hug. And he says:” Daddy, do you carefully. “Yes, it’s always exciting.”
It puts Luijten and colleagues that they are often accused of using too much violence. “The right to demonstration is very important, we are there to facilitate it. Demonstrators end their own demonstration with violence. You can certainly talk to the ME, but if the helmet rises, the time of talking is over and you have to listen.”
Response Maarten Brink, Dutch police association
“As a Dutch police union, we are explicitly drawing attention to the capacity problem with the police. Now too large burdens have to be distributed over too few people. That hurts. There are quite a lot in The Hague that have a listening ear. But we are dependent on the budget and the last Prinsjesdag it became clear that there is a million shortage with the police.”
Brink also draws attention to the ME’ers family. “A bet also means something for the home front of the agents. That is sometimes forgotten. Agents are called at home and leave home and fireplace. For the home front this has an impact.”