Robberies in Obdam, Bergen, Haarlem and Oudorp: coincidence or trend?

New Year’s Day turned into a nightmare for Rinus Neefjes. The 81-year-old Obdammer was brutally robbed in the street of a watch and a necklace with a lot of sentimental value. The robbery of his valuables did him much, he told NH News. This was followed on Wednesday, January 3 a robbery at a supermarket in Haarlemthe high-profile robbery the casino in Mons firing warning shots and on Wednesday morning there was a home robbery in Oudorp.

Jasper van der Kemp, criminologist at the VU, sees that the robberies are very different from each other. “Due to the nature of the robberies, it does not seem that they are related. A home robbery and a robbery on the street are something completely different.” But one of the robberies really stands out, according to him. “The robbery of the casino in Bergen is very exceptional. It has been attempted before, but it does not happen often.”

Van der Kemp thinks that the two 19-year-old suspects from Amsterdam and Rotterdam were looking for a place where they thought there would be a lot of cash. “A robbery of a casino sounds like a nice idea, but in practice it is difficult. It is not like at a bakery where you can rob such a cash drawer empty. The security is a lot better at a casino.”

It is not surprising that the two suspects do not come from the region of the casino, says the criminologist. “If they want money fast, they look for something nearby. But these two were clearly looking for a big loot. They are willing to travel further for that.”

“Because the robberies took place so close to each other, it is probably pure coincidence,” Van der Kemp thinks. “This time of year, with the low light, is favorable for the criminals. But because the robberies are most likely not related, I think it is a special twist of fate.”

“Last year we had four robberies in January, so far we are at three,” says a spokesman for the Noord-Holland police (these figures concern the figures of the whole of Noord-Holland, with the exception of the municipalities of Amsterdam and Hilversum, ed.). The robbery of Rinus Neefjes from Obdam becomes technically a street robbery. “The robbery of the Jumbo in Haarlem also turned out to be more of a shoplifting.” At that supermarket, a cash drawer was stolen on Tuesday evening by an as yet unknown man.

No outliers

The high number of robberies in the province in recent days is a coincidence, the spokesperson also thinks. “Compared to last year’s figures, we do not yet see any significant drops or outliers. I cannot put my finger on why it is happening now. It is probably a coincidence.”

“You can see that when it’s dark because of the time of year, there’s more opportunity for it,” he explains. “But there is no way to draw an arrow: there were ten robberies in July last year, while it was of course light then.”