Sharp rise in sex crime reports
The police received 15,500 reports of sex crimes like rape, sexual assault, incest, child sex abuse, and grooming in 2022. That is a sharp increase compared to the 12,000 reports in 2020. The number of charges pressed increased from 2,900 to 3,400 in that time.
Due to the significant increase in reports, hundreds of cases have to wait months before the police have the capacity to investigate. Currently, 856 victims have been waiting for more than six months.
The new sex crime law, which makes having sex without explicit consent a criminal offense, that takes effect next year will also lead to more reports.
The police are working hard on an action plan to help sex crime victims faster and better.
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NS - Dutch Railways employees faced 30 percent more incidents of violence on the trains and in the train stations last year. In most cases, a traveler reacted violently after an NS employee addressed them on the house rules or tried to check their ticket.
NS employees faced violence and aggression 965 times last year, up from 744 incidents in 2021. They were threatened 349 times, physically assaulted 256 times, and spat on 181 times.
NS has taken multiple measures to fight these problems, including watching surveillance footage live in trains on problem routes. The live surveillance will be expanded to all trains this year.
At some locations, NS was forced to take drastic measures. The rail company closed an entrance at Nijmegen station. NS deployed security guards with dogs at Weert, Rotterdam Central, and Amsterdam Central and implemented permanent entry checks at Maarheeze station.
But the increase in violence shows that these measures are not enough.
https://nltimes.nl/2023/02/17/ns-workers-facing-30-increase-violence-aggression
