one in eight young people in a number of neighborhoods to become a drug criminal – Wel.nl
It is becoming normal in the Netherlands to earn money in the drug trade: in a considerable number of targets one in eight young people is at risk of becoming a drug criminal. That appears from research by RTL Nieuws.
In total, this concerns 162,000 young people, according to government undermining figures, which RTL analyzed. The Helmond-West district in Brabant is the worst: no less than 13.7 percent of those at risk of ending up in the drug trade. It is often young people who have debts, drop out of school or carry out community service at the HALT office.
Criminologist Robby Roks speaks of a worrying number at RTL Nieuws. “Some of them can go very well in a few years, but a number will grow into organized crime. You can think of the cocaine trade, but also expansion in liquidations and extortion.”
Other neighborhoods where at least one-eighth of the youth threaten to end up on the eight path are Centrum Almere Stad, Delfshaven, Rosmolenwijk (Zaanstad) and Emmermeer). Rotterdam stands with almost 11,000 young people who are in danger of sliding upwards.
In addition to poverty, problems in the family also play a role, explains Roks. And sometimes it’s sheer boredom. There is also a lack of policy. Roks: “Over the past ten years, youth work and community work have been cut out of the neighborhoods where it was really necessary. But more is needed, such as getting rid of the structural forms. If we aren’t on top of that, it’s just mopping with the tap open. There is a fear among professionals that the new Taghis will also rise.”