{"id":150131,"date":"2023-02-09T13:05:20","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T12:05:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=150131"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:38","slug":"other-crime-risks-getting-overlooked-due-to-the-focus-on-drugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/02\/09\/other-crime-risks-getting-overlooked-due-to-the-focus-on-drugs\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Other crime risks getting overlooked due to the focus on drugs’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The murders of lawyer Derk Wiersum and journalist Peter R. de Vries, a severed head placed in front of a caf\u00e9 in Amsterdam, drug waste in rural parts of Brabant and coke in Rotterdam containers: drug-related crime seems to be becoming ever more prevalent in everyday life.<\/p>\n

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In 2019, the government invested 100\u00a0million euros in the fight against this (and other forms of) subversive crime in society. In the following years, it made another long-term investment of 10\u00a0million euros. But what is there to show for all this money? Have criminals actually been forced out of the lives of ordinary citizens? Criminologist Karin van Wingerde investigated this approach and wrote a critical report. \u201cBlind spots have arisen in the fight against subversive activities other than drug-related crime\u201d, says Van Wingerde.<\/p>\n

In the report, you argue for the abolition of the term \u2018subversive\u2019. Why is this term a problem?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Amstelland Police first used the term \u2018subversive\u2019 in 2009 to describe how the underworld affected legitimate society. If you Google the Dutch word ondermijnend<\/em> (subversive), you\u2019ll see a picture of a Dutch city with buildings above ground and weapons, drugs and the like below ground. This picture shows what subversion is all about: because of the connection between the underworld and legitimate society, subversion is slowly affecting the foundations of that society. In this regard, the use of the term \u2018subversion\u2019 has been highly effective. No one opposes subversion being tackled. However, the political debate has reduced \u2018subversion\u2019 to drug-related subversion. This has led to blind spots when it comes to other types of crime, such as integrity issues in politics, health care fraud or environmental crime. That\u2019s why I say we should actually let go of the term \u2018subversion\u2019. Internationally, it\u2019s not a well-known concept either. I advocate the return of the term \u2018organised crime\u2019. That\u2019s not perfect either, but offers more to go on and is more common internationally.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018No one opposes subversion being tackled. However, the political debate has reduced \u2018subversion\u2019 to drug-related subversion.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

But isn\u2019t it true that the Netherlands is mainly known for its problems with drugs \u2013 with shootings, murders as a result of mistaken identity and drug labs in the forests of Brabant \u2013 rather than for environmental crime?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the eyes of the general public, subversion has been reduced to a drugs problem, mainly under the influence of the media and politics. This is in spite of the fact that other forms of crime sometimes involve even larger amounts of money and have more harmful consequences, some of which we don\u2019t currently label as illegal. This is not considered subversion. Environmental crime is one example of this. One of the developments we\u2019re seeing is large companies \u2018laundering\u2019 raw materials from illegal mining projects in order to earn money. These companies employ people who work in terrible conditions in these mines and extract raw materials illegally, resulting in major environmental damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How does the Netherlands compare to other countries in the fight against subversion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe international media usually report that the Netherlands is failing. The biggest issue with the drugs problem, of course, is that it enters through our ports. But quite frankly, I think we\u2019re further ahead in terms of the cooperation between public and private parties than most of the countries around us. Things are often even harder there. At the same time, I\u2019ve found that the additional money has been invested almost exclusively in national projects, even though drug-related problems \u2013 such as the cocaine trade \u2013 are clearly international by definition.\u201d<\/p>

For years, millions of euros have been invested in a better approach to subversion. With what result?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA total of 126\u00a0projects have been set up, especially in the area of cooperation between government bodies and companies. We\u2019ve been looking at thirteen of these projects for three years. We didn\u2019t look at the effects of these projects on subversion, but at the process: how does a project get off the ground, which parties are involved, how do they work together and what are the factors involved in success and failure? A great deal of progress has been made: everybody now acknowledges the urgency of the problem and there\u2019s a great deal of cooperation. Nevertheless, we\u2019ve found that many long-standing problems haven\u2019t been resolved.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018The urgency of the problem and there\u2019s a great deal of cooperation. Nevertheless, we\u2019ve found that many long-standing problems haven\u2019t been resolved.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

What kind of problems do you mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, setting up sustainable forms of cooperation is still a challenge. This is partly due to how government works. Short cycles of four years between elections make long-term policymaking difficult. In addition, an important condition of the investments was that \u2018learning\u2019 was to be put front and centre: learning from the past, but also learning from the successes of other projects. However, there was no strategy for building on this learning. In addition, a number of preconditions are lacking. Employees at organisations such as the Public Prosecution Service and the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service, for example, are still judged by results rather than how well they cooperate with other parties in society.\u201d<\/p>

One of the problems you describe in the report is that there\u2019s a high turnover of people such as data analysts or financial experts, and that their expertise is lost as a result. Why can\u2019t we hold on to these people?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOriginally the funding was temporary in nature, which also meant temporary work. People tend to look for stability and they can easily find that elsewhere. Many people also felt that this project work was competing with their main task.\u201d<\/p>

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The investments started in 2019 and ended in 2022. Is three years long enough to create substantial, lasting change?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is that the people involved in the projects had to tackle capacity problems first. In essence, this meant that in the first year they were busy finding people, in the second year they had to draw up a plan and it was only in the third year that they could start the implementation process. Fortunately, additional money has now been made available to continue these projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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