Traffic signs, street signs, bowl signs. It’s loot. The bill is paid by the municipalities, the taxpayer. Where are the signs? “Not at scrap dealers. Perhaps in the mancave”, the police think.
It is commonplace, says alderman Jurrie Nieboer (PvhN) of the municipality of Oldambt. “The people in the field service are already keeping an eye out. During their work they see where a plate is missing. But most tips come from residents.”
The sign of the Hongerige Wolf region, municipality of Oldambt, is extremely popular among ‘collectors’, Nieboer knows. “That sign has been stolen at least four times recently.” Why, he wonders aloud. “It’s a nice name, but if you want a plate like that, just order one.”
At the police in Winschoten, the subject of plate robbery comes up again and again. When officers come to someone’s home, they already look with a slanted eye to see whether there is a traffic sign, street sign or place name sign in the man cave, if any. Research has shown that the traffic signs are not capitalized on Marktplaats and at scrap metal dealers. So apparently the road sign is seen as a trophy and kept at home.
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Pekela adjusts budget for traffic signs
In Pekela they have been dealing with theft and the destruction of signs for years. It is even so bad that the Board of B&W will discuss the subject soon. “Because”, Alderman Lex Kupers of Samen voor Pekela (SVP) knows, “we can no longer manage with the money we have budgeted for replacement.” Every year, Pekela thought that five thousand euros would be enough. But that amount has already risen to 15,000 euros in recent years. Three times as much. “Sorry about that money. We can also do something fun with such an amount, then replace plates”, says Kupers. This year alone, Pekela has spent more than 6,000 euros on new signs.
The municipality of Pekela has 1450 traffic, street name and bowl signs spread throughout the villages. The municipality does not report vandalism or theft. An impossible task, says Kupers.
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Westerwolde takes a different tack
In Westerwolde they want to take a different approach. Assuming that the thieves are after the aluminum, which has a price tag, stolen signs are replaced by plastic signs. “We are working on that now, because stealing the plates is a big problem. Every week we see that a sign has been removed somewhere,” says alderman Henk van der Goot (Municipal Interests). “But maybe that doesn’t offer a solution either, and they are still souvenir hunters.”
Van der Goot has already broken his head on how to tackle the problem, let alone solve it. “We have already used other locks, but unfortunately. That didn’t help either. Last I saw a sign with a bullet hole in it. Apparently it was out of frustration that the sign had not been removed. I really wonder: why do you break such a sign or why do you remove it.” The municipality always reports theft of a sign. ,, But whether that really puts sod on the dike. I doubt it.”
At the Association of Groningen Municipalities (VGG) it has not yet been a theme, says chairman Ard van der Tuuk. He is also mayor of the municipality of Westerkwartier and knows from that position that it is also a frequent phenomenon in his municipality. A spokesperson for the municipality of Westerkwartier said on request that the budget will be adjusted. So that means setting aside extra money.
Taxpayers pay for theft of traffic signs, damage at least 5 million euros
The Netherlands has about 6 million traffic signs, Jacques Goddijn knows. He is general manager of HR company. Streetcare, the largest producer of traffic signs in the Netherlands. Every year, approximately 250,000 plates leave the production location in Leek, out of a total of 350,000 plates that are produced annually in the Netherlands.
According to Goddijn, about 10,000 signs are stolen every year. That number is arbitrary, because many municipalities do not file a tax return. The damage amount for the taxpayer will therefore certainly run to 5 million euros, assuming that the delivery of a sign, with pole, labor costs and brackets costs 500 euros.
Particularly in ‘student cities’ and in areas with less social control, such as in the east and north of the country, along the German border, sign theft is the order of the day. Nevertheless, Goddijn foresees that plate theft for monetary gain will become less attractive because of aluminum. “We are already producing bamboo plates. They are durable and stable in hardness.”
But there still appears to be a lucrative trade in aluminum. “Especially in Eastern Europe”, Goddijn knows. “We have a small branch there and we see that metal is worth more.” Theft will never be completely eradicated, Goddijn expects, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to ‘take’ a plate with you. Because the sensor has already made its appearance. This makes it easier to track down a missing sign.