More money will be made available to tackle crime in the North. The Ministry of Justice makes an additional 40 million euros available for the whole of the Netherlands. Part of it will be deployed in the North.
The money is intended for the RIEC, the Regional Information and Expertise Center. This is an organization where government agencies work together to tackle organized crime. It is a wide range of authorities, such as customs, the FIOD, municipalities and the police. But also, for example, the UWV and the IND are part of the RIEC. There is also a national bureau that monitors developments in crime, the LIEC.
Ten million of the annual 40 million euros will go to improving the cooperation and organization of the RIECs across the country. The rest of the money is divided among the ten regional centers, such as the RIEC Northern Netherlands.
This means that an extra 2.5 to 3 million euros can be deployed in the Northern Netherlands every year. What will happen with that is not yet known. The Ministry of Justice has asked the RIECs to come up with plans so that the money in each region is spent on problems that occur in that region.
For the Northern Netherlands, a spokesperson for the ministry mentions the many pleasure marinas. They may be vulnerable to drug trafficking and smuggling. And remote farms are locations that criminals look to for the production of drugs, for example.