4 ms·

Also a hotspot for drugs trafficking, yet with a pristine official record of corruption, ranking as one of the ten least corrupt countries in the world. These s

Also a hotspot for drugs trafficking, yet with a pristine official record of corruption, ranking as one of the ten least corrupt countries in the world. These seem incongruous, somehow.

rocqua 6y ago
There has been movement and cries for help about criminal influence at the municipal level. With cases of criminals getting elected, or mayor's being threatened for taking action against criminals. These have been listened to, and a campaign to undermine criminality by law enforcement has been setup with moderate success. The issue is known in government and action is being taken. At the same time, our value and expertise is largely in logistics. Government tries to balance economic interests against crime fighting. Meanwhile we are a huge logistics hub with a relatively small police force (cause we are a small country). So it makes sense that we are attractive for criminals. What worries me most is the port of Rotterdam. It is big, vital, and known to have quite a large criminal element embedded in the workforce. Fixing that whilst keeping the port operational is probably quite difficult.
zabzonk 6y ago
>yet with a pristine official record of corruption A pristine record with whom? I've worked for several years, on and off, in the Netherlands (and enjoyed doing so, mostly), and it has always seemed to me that they simply ignore any crimes and corruption they can't be bothered with.
- rocqua 6y ago
  Thing is, when normal citizens interact with government there is no corruption. Any corruption that exists is higher, political, and worried about exposure.
ummonk 6y ago
Sounds like a ranking as meaningful as pandemic preparedness. https://www.statista.com/chart/20629/ability-to-respond-to-an-epidemic-or-pandemic/ https://www.statista.com/chart/20629/ability-to-respond-to-a...
kome 6y ago
often northern Europe is like this... or Switzerland. I have seen incredible stuff in Switzerland.
- 0dayz 6y ago
  What are you saying? That criminal gangs are rampant in Switzerland or that the Swiss do incredibly well in fighting corruption?
  - kome 6y ago
    That criminal activities are rampant in Switzerland, but the Swiss don't care.
kazen44 6y ago
the south of the netherland is the largest XTC producer in Europe, and very hard to tackle because criminal enterprises are usually entrenched in local villages and communities.
FabHK 6y ago
Not incongruous, I think. By basically legalising drugs, prostitution, and similar victimless peccadillos (and focusing on treatment and support instead), you destroy the mob's business model, reduce opportunity for corruption, and allow cops to concentrate on real crime.
- mustafa_pasi 6y ago
  But actually the opposite is happening in the Netherlands. There are drug labs basically everywhere in the countryside. All global organized crime syndicates have a local presence. With regards to prostitution, human trafficking has actually increased and prostitutes get imported and pimped out. Half the business is legal so the police have even less incentive to care, especially if the victim and the pimp are both foreign. Basically free tax money and no harm (to ethnic Dutch people). There's also lots of arms trafficking.
  - FabHK 6y ago
    Oh wow, I didn't realise it was so bad.
    - aden1ne 6y ago
      The Netherlands may even have the worst drug laws in existence. Cannabis is not legalized, it's "tolerated". This means it's legal to sell and buy cannabis, but it is _not_ legal to grow it in any sizeable quantities[note]. This means the legal part of the cannabis sector relies exclusively on criminal activity. So instead of replacing the criminal business model, it instead depends on it. Note: Since 2020 there have been some minor experiments with letting municipalities grow cannabis.

Also a hotspot for drugs trafficking, yet with a pristine official record of corruption, ranking as one of the ten least corrupt countries in the world. These seem incongruous, somehow.

rocqua 6y ago

There has been movement and cries for help about criminal influence at the municipal level. With cases of criminals getting elected, or mayor's being threatened for taking action against criminals. These have been listened to, and a campaign to undermine criminality by law enforcement has been setup with moderate success. The issue is known in government and action is being taken. At the same time, our value and expertise is largely in logistics. Government tries to balance economic interests against crime fighting. Meanwhile we are a huge logistics hub with a relatively small police force (cause we are a small country). So it makes sense that we are attractive for criminals. What worries me most is the port of Rotterdam. It is big, vital, and known to have quite a large criminal element embedded in the workforce. Fixing that whilst keeping the port operational is probably quite difficult.

zabzonk 6y ago

>yet with a pristine official record of corruption A pristine record with whom? I've worked for several years, on and off, in the Netherlands (and enjoyed doing so, mostly), and it has always seemed to me that they simply ignore any crimes and corruption they can't be bothered with.

rocqua 6y ago
Thing is, when normal citizens interact with government there is no corruption. Any corruption that exists is higher, political, and worried about exposure.

ummonk 6y ago

Sounds like a ranking as meaningful as pandemic preparedness. https://www.statista.com/chart/20629/ability-to-respond-to-an-epidemic-or-pandemic/ https://www.statista.com/chart/20629/ability-to-respond-to-a...

kome 6y ago

often northern Europe is like this... or Switzerland. I have seen incredible stuff in Switzerland.

0dayz 6y ago
What are you saying? That criminal gangs are rampant in Switzerland or that the Swiss do incredibly well in fighting corruption?
- kome 6y ago
  That criminal activities are rampant in Switzerland, but the Swiss don't care.

kazen44 6y ago

the south of the netherland is the largest XTC producer in Europe, and very hard to tackle because criminal enterprises are usually entrenched in local villages and communities.

FabHK 6y ago

Not incongruous, I think. By basically legalising drugs, prostitution, and similar victimless peccadillos (and focusing on treatment and support instead), you destroy the mob's business model, reduce opportunity for corruption, and allow cops to concentrate on real crime.

mustafa_pasi 6y ago
But actually the opposite is happening in the Netherlands. There are drug labs basically everywhere in the countryside. All global organized crime syndicates have a local presence. With regards to prostitution, human trafficking has actually increased and prostitutes get imported and pimped out. Half the business is legal so the police have even less incentive to care, especially if the victim and the pimp are both foreign. Basically free tax money and no harm (to ethnic Dutch people). There's also lots of arms trafficking.
- FabHK 6y ago
  Oh wow, I didn't realise it was so bad.
  - aden1ne 6y ago
    The Netherlands may even have the worst drug laws in existence. Cannabis is not legalized, it's "tolerated". This means it's legal to sell and buy cannabis, but it is _not_ legal to grow it in any sizeable quantities[note]. This means the legal part of the cannabis sector relies exclusively on criminal activity. So instead of replacing the criminal business model, it instead depends on it. Note: Since 2020 there have been some minor experiments with letting municipalities grow cannabis.