Amsterdam crime rate declines

DutchAmsterdam.nl — Overall, Amsterdam became a little safer in 2008. Amsterdammers also report feeling safer.

Police received fewer official complaints regarding crime or nuisance situations.

The Regional Safety report provides indications for objective, actual safety as well as for subjective safety — in other words, how safe people feel in a given place. The lower the numbers, the better. The indication for objective safety declined from 90 in 2007 to 88 last year, while the subjective safety went from 78 to 74.

Amsterdam mounted police officer gets ready to ticket Amsterdammer for minor traffic violation.
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However, the number of robberies in the city is still high. In 2007 the number of robberies had increased by 25 percent over the previous year. In 2008, robberies declined by just four percent.

The number of crimes committed by habitual offenders declined noticeably, Amsterdam daily Het Parool reports. Mayor Job Cohen considers that to be important news. The decline is attributed to the successful approach of the so-called Instellingen voor Stelselmatige Daders (ISD) — Instances for Repeat Offenders — where ‘revolving-door’ criminals addicted to drugs can be locked up for two years, during which they are obligated to reintegrate into society.

This group was reduced from 654 in 2007, to 586 last year.

“The ISD is starting to be very successful, and other projects in which punishment and care are combined also work well,” says the mayor. “We have succeeded in working with ‘care evaders’ who who previously were not motivated to change. If we can get this group housed and forced them to toe the line it makes a huge difference.”

Amsterdam’s approach to the city’s hardcore criminalized youth is also showing some positive results. The number of young criminals declined from 757 in 2007 to 600 in 2008. However, the city is worried about the increase in violence and criminality among those youths.

Chief Superintendent of Police Bernard Welten is for the most part satisfied as well, but also says police is worried about the amount violence or threats of violence against workers in the public sector, as well as during robberies.

The Justice Department is highly satisfied over the results with repeat offenders. “We see the success of a personal approach via linked units, in which police, the justice department and various care organizations work closely together,” a spokesperson says.

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