The number of reported robberies, violent incidents and breaches of peace in the city of Groningen continued to decline in the first quarter of 2018.
Translation by Traci White
OOGTV reports that there has been a decline in the overall number of filed reports since the second quarter of 2017: theft and violent incidents in particular are down. The municipality of Groningen publishes the safety monitor on a quarterly basis.
Shoplifting
The number of reported shoplifting incidents has remained more or less constant since the end of 2017. There have been more reports of break-ins and drug trafficking compared to the third quarter of 2017, but the number of break-ins is comparable to the same periods in 2015 and 2016. Drug charges remain fairly rare, which is why any increase at all is noticeable.
“It’s a safe city to live, which we were of course already aware of”, says Groningen mayor Peter den Oudsten. “But the numbers are reassuring.”
Disturbing the peace
However, according to OOGTV, the city government is keeping a close eye on the number of reported incidents of someone disturbing the peace. Den Oudsten says, “That includes all kinds of cases, from encounters out on the streets to noise complaints about neighbours.”
“We also know that when the weather gets warmer, windows are left open and people are likelier to be grilling outdoors, which means that things are simply noisier”, Den Oudsten says. “But since there have been several quarters in a row that the numbers are up, we’re looking into it more closely.”
Another potential contributing factor is that psychiatric patients are not admitted to hospital quickly enough. Den Oudsten says, “That means that people may remain on the streets longer, and the community isn’t equipped to take that on. That is a larger issue that is harder to solve.”
Photo source: Wusje / Wikipedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0
