“It’s about rolling up, taking away and preventing,” Minister Grapperhaus writes in a letter to the House of Representatives. He wants to do this by setting up a so-called Multidisciplinary Intervention Team at the national police unit, which must focus on ‘disrupting the business processes of criminal leaders and their networks’.

In addition, the money must be used to protect professional groups that are involved with criminals from the drug world. Part of the amount also goes to campaigns to discourage drug use and cooperation with municipalities is needed to keep young people out of crime.

Extra manpower

The police asked immediately after the murder of Derk Wiersum itself to extra money for more manpower in the fight against organized crime. Ultimately, the police must be expanded with 445 full-time jobs. According to the police, this requires 100 million euros on an annual basis.

Grapperhaus is now meeting that, at least in terms of the actual sum of money. In the spring, the minister wants to see if and how much money can be made available structurally for tackling organized crime.

In addition to setting up intervention teams, the minister also wants to combat drug use. In an interview with The Associated Press he explains: “The use must cease, because they fund the crime.” Municipalities should be helped by the Minister in forming their policies, because they are not able to go against his drug use, for example, the many festivals that are organized. He says he finds it ‘very good’ that Mayor Femke Halsema has clearly spoken out against an option such as legalization.