Investigation into 'Undermining in the Achterhoek'
Over the past period, research has been conducted into undermining in the Achterhoek. The Achterhoek municipalities have now been working on an independent and joint approach for 5 years. Administrative leader of the 'Approach to Undermining' is Mayor Annette Bronsvoort: "This proposal charts the state of affairs in the eight Achterhoek municipalities. This gives us insight into the effects of our administrative policy. The research also paints a picture of the opportunities criminals see in our region. The researcher Edward van der Torre gives us recommendations for improving the approach."
Achterhoek in demand by criminals
Undermining deals with the harmful effects of organized crime on society. These include drug trafficking, drug production, healthcare fraud, investments of criminal money in real estate, and criminal practices at non-vital vacation parks. In the Achterhoek, we face four opportunities that make it attractive to criminals: a vast outlying area, large cities surrounding the Achterhoek, influences from drug markets, and its border location. For example, criminals are interested in vacant agricultural property in the outlying area for drug production or it is easy to leave with stolen riding mowers abroad.
Working together to reduce undermining
In recent years, a plan of action has been drawn up to deal with undermining. First, the Achterhoek municipalities have brought undermining to the attention of their own organizations and society through a variety of educational activities. Second, the municipalities now have the same policy for dealing with drug crime and human trafficking. Moreover, they prevent abuse of licenses, subsidies and tenders in the same way through the Bibob policy. This policy is designed to prevent the government from unintentionally facilitating criminal activities.Finally, municipalities have invested in improving the identification of undermining and following it up through supervision and enforcement.
Improvements in approach possible
Today, undermining is a security priority in all municipalities. However, the researcher does note that improvements can still be made. He calls for an increase in the number of employees at municipalities dealing with security and undermining. He also mentions increasing BOA and supervisory capacity. It lags behind other rural regions in the Netherlands. He also indicates that it would be wise to set up a vision on dealing with drug crime, to pick up signals of undermining more quickly, and to continue to pay attention to healthcare fraud. Finally, he calls for the current regional plan to be renewed, so that it is also clear what the ambitions are for the coming years.
Mayor Annette Bronsvoort: "All eight Achterhoek municipalities are working to reduce undermining. We will continue to do so, also together. Undermining does not stop at municipal borders. We must keep our ears and eyes open and continue to report suspicious situations. This can be done at the municipalities, police or Report Crime Anonymously."