Abstract
The coronavirus arrived in the Netherlands at the end of February 2020 from Italy, followed by official measures a few weeks later which developed from the original ‘herd immunity’ policy, through ‘intelligent lockdown’ to ‘hard lockdown’ in the autumn of 2020. The policies were accompanied by social protests against the anti-Covid-19 measures. While there was a significant decrease in the number of street and property crimes recorded by the police, the numbers of other crimes remained stable, and some even increased. Particular attention will be paid here to organized crime, which became a priority of Dutch law enforcement in 2020. My sources of information include local media, national and international official reports and statistics provided by national law enforcement agencies and international statistics published by health institutions.
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Notes
- 1.
NOS, 27 February (2020), Eerste Nederlander met coronavirus opgenomen in Tilburg, ‘man vierde carnaval’
https://nos.nl/artikel/2324870-eerste-nederlander-met-coronavirus-opgenomen-in-tilburg-man-vierde-carnaval.html. AD, 28 Feb. 2020, Nederlandse coronapatient (56) vierde carnaval, GGD onderzoekt zijn contacten
- 2.
AD, 23 April 2020, Het coronavirus was al veel langer in Nederland. https://www.ad.nl/dossier-coronavirus/het-coronavirus-was-al-veel-langer-in-nederland~af840f5b/?referrer=https://en.wikipedia.org/
- 3.
NOS, 2 February (2020), Minister Bruins: Nederland goed voorbereid op coronavirus. https://nos.nl/artikel/2321332-minister-bruins-nederland-goed-voorbereid-op-coronavirus
- 4.
National Geographic, 18 June (2020), Waarom waren we niet voorbereid voor dit virus, https://www.nationalgeographic.nl/wetenschap/2020/06/waarom-waren-we-niet-voorbereid-op-dit-virus
- 5.
Trouw, 24 February 2020, Ja, Europa moet zich zorgen maken om het virus, ‘maar dit is geen ebola’
Trouw, 24 February 2020, Hoe Nederland is voorbereid op COVID-19?
- 6.
Trouw, 27 February 2020, Wat Nederland niet doet tegen het coronavirus, en waarom niet
- 7.
The last time a Dutch PM addressed the nation on TV was in 1973 by former PM Joop den Uyl during the oil crisis.
- 8.
AD, 16 May 2020, Van intelligente naar ideale lockdown: hebben we te veel verboden?
- 9.
World Economic Forum, 21 August 2020, WHO: Herd immunity is a long way off stopping COVID-19. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/08/herd-immunity-not-enough-to-stop-coronavirus/
- 10.
AD, 16 May 2020, Van intelligente naar ideale lockdown: hebben we te veel verboden?
- 11.
Trouw, 12 April 2020,Vandaag is de intelligente lockdown een maand van kracht. ‘Het cabinet heeft burgers onderschat’. https://www.trouw.nl/binnenland/vandaag-is-de-intelligente-lockdown-een-maand-van-kracht-het-kabinet-heeft-burgers-onderschat~b1f34508/
- 12.
Nu.Nl, 23 March (2020), Nederland test alleen kwetsbare mensen op corona om tekort te voorkomen
- 13.
NRC, 20 April (2020), Drie maanden corona in Nederland, een overzicht van de maatregelen.
- 14.
Ipsos, 28 April 2020, De publieke opinie over de COVID-19 uitbraak. https://www.ipsos.com/nl-nl/Corona
- 15.
NOS, 16 March (2020), Coffeeshops mogen weer open voor afhalen
https://nos.nl/artikel/2327298-coffeeshops-mogen-weer-open-voor-afhalen.html
- 16.
Tijdelijke wet maatregelen COVID-19 (Temporary measures against COVID-19 Law proposal)
- 17.
- 18.
Skipr, 8 April 2020, ‘Met 50 procent van de informatie 100 procent beslissen’ dat doet de zorg al jaren. https://www.skipr.nl/blog/met-50-procent-van-de-informatie-100-procent-beslissen-dat-doet-de-zorg-al-jaren/
- 19.
De Volkskrant, 29 September 2020, Kennis vermeerdert onenigheid: wordt het coronavirus minder gevaarlijk? https://www.volkskrant.nl/columns-opinie/kennis-vermeerdert-onenigheid-wordt-het-coronavirus-minder-gevaarlijk~bd0655c4/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
- 20.
The followers of conspiracy theories argue that the new cellular technology (5G) causes the spread of COVID-19 virus and conseqently huge harm to public health.
- 21.
Hart van Nederland, 9 February (2020), Chinese studenten in Wageningen opgeschrikt door doodsverwensingen. https://www.hartvannederland.nl/nieuws/2020/discriminerende-teksten-studentenflat/
- 22.
De Volkskrant, 20 February (2020), Uitgescholden en bedreigd, want alle Chinezen hebben corona, https://www.volkskrant.nl/nieuws-achtergrond/uitgescholden-en-bedreigd-want-alle-chinezen-hebben-corona~b563944c/?utm_source=link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=shared_earned
- 23.
Hart van Nederland 1, 9 February (2020), Chinezen woest op corona-carnivalslied ‘Voorkomen is beter dan Chinezen. https://www.hartvannederland.nl/nieuws/2020/chinezen-woest-om-corona-carnavalslied-voorkomen-is-beter-dan-chinezen/
- 24.
NRC, 20 April (2020), Drie maanden corona in Nederland, een overzicht van de maatregelen
- 25.
NL Times, 28 March (2020). https://nltimes.nl/2020/03/28/salvation-army-campaign-brings-attention-homeless-people-affected-coronavirus
- 26.
De Gelderlander, 30 May (2020), Polen en Roemenen elke dag in volle busjes van Emmerik naar Nederland: ‘Voor ons is corona niet meer dan een griepje’. https://www.gelderlander.nl/achterhoek/polen-en-roemenen-elke-dag-in-volle-busjes-van-emmerik-naar-nederland-voor-ons-is-corona-niet-meer-dan-een-griepje~a8d6e245/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
- 27.
DutchReview, 2 July (2020), Have you seen this ‘corona spitter’ in Amsterdam. https://dutchreview.com/news/have-you-seen-this-corona-spitter-in-amsterdam/
- 28.
Gemeente. Nl, 16 December 2020. https://www.gemeente.nu/veiligheid/handhaving/ruim-21-000-coronaboetes-uitgedeeld/
- 29.
Since October 2020, fines were reduced to 95 euro for everyone, without criminal record, Gemeente. Nl, 16 December 2020. https://www.gemeente.nu/veiligheid/handhaving/ruim-21-000-coronaboetes-uitgedeeld/
- 30.
De Volkskrant, 4 April (2020), Leerlingen zien hoe hun docente tijdens een online-les wordt mishandeld
- 31.
Het Parool, 20 May (2020), Douane onderschept 550 kilo cocaïne in Rotterdamse haven
https://www.parool.nl/nederland/douane-onderschept-550-kilo-cocaine-in-rotterdamse-haven~b76ec251/
- 32.
RTL Nieuws (3 July 2020), Politie vindt martelkamers van onderwereld in zeecontainers in Brabant https://www.rtlnieuws.nl/nieuws/nederland/artikel/5169372/onderwereld-criminelen-zeecontainers-martelkamers-wouwse-plantage
- 33.
NOS, 18 May (2020), Mexicaanse taferelen in de polder? ‘De kartels spelen een soort Risk’ https://nos.nl/artikel/2334281-mexicaanse-taferelen-in-de-polder-de-kartels-spelen-een-soort-risk.html
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Siegel, D. (2022). COVID-19: Policies, Trust and Crime in the Netherlands. In: Siegel, D., Dobryninas, A., Becucci, S. (eds) Covid-19, Society and Crime in Europe. Studies of Organized Crime, vol 21. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13562-0_12
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