At the beginning of the evening, dozens of parents came to a meeting of the municipality of Stede Broec, childcare center Berend Botje and school ‘t Vierspan. It was held after a confused man twice caused a dangerous situation on the square of the school in Grootebroek earlier this fall. The first time he even threatened children with a knife.
“The meeting was peaceful and orderly,” said mayor Ronald Wortelboer. Roy Boogaard, one of the parents present, acknowledges this. But also says: “there were a lot of angry parents, with good questions.” His final verdict on the meeting is that it was “satisfactory”.
The parents were told tonight that the man is still ninety days remains in custody and that his behavior be investigated by a forensic psychologist. After ninety days, the judge then decides what should happen. “That could be anything,” says mayor Wortelboer. “You can think of forced admission, assisted living, but also independent living with certain conditions.”
Many questions
Will the man return to his rental home opposite the schoolyard? That’s one of the concerned questions parents had. “We are fully committed to ensuring that the man does not return there. Everyone I have spoken to about this in recent weeks agrees. Only I cannot guarantee the full one hundred percent,” says Wortelboer.
But there were also other questions, says Wortelboer. For example: what if the man lives somewhere else and still comes back to the schoolyard? And how can it be ensured that another confused man does not come to live at the school? But also: what about the reputation of the school?
“All legitimate questions,” said the mayor. He couldn’t answer everything right away. Wortelboer was pleased that everyone contributed constructively. “But also that there was insight that this man is a resident of the municipality and who is also responsible for it.”
Safety must be guaranteed
Roy is pleased that the municipality has indicated that it will do everything it can to prevent this man from returning to his home. But Roy has another goal: that safety in and around a school is guaranteed and, if necessary, there are conditions for living near a schoolyard. There he also has with other parents a petition for walking.
Mayor Wortelboer also includes the guarantee of safety in and around a school as a research point from this meeting. According to him, this should also be looked at together at regional, but also at national level. But he says: “You can’t always predict behavior. That also makes it difficult. In addition, I don’t always have the right tools to evict people.”
Mayor Wortelboer concludes: “There is now peace. But we have not yet been able to remove all concerns, but it is not finished yet either.”