Netherlands: Racialised crime statistics

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Netherlands: Racialised crime statistics
artdoc April=1993

Police crime statistics have been used by the Amsterdam police
commissioner, E Nordhalt, to argue that youth from Surinam and
the Dutch Antilles are heavily over-represented in street
robberies and assaults (comprising, according to the figures,
over half of those arrested for these offences). Mr Nordhalt also
criticises as inadequate a new package for the construction of
more police cells by 1996. Amsterdam is facing a `Los Angeles'
type situation, particularly in the Bijimer, says the police
commissioner.
Mr Nordhalt's claims have been furiously refuted by an
Antillean minister who was in Holland in February on a four-day
visit Ms Romer said that it was dangerous to employ stereotypes,
particularly at a time of growing racism. The Antillean prime
minister has also written to his Dutch counterpart, expressing
concern (Volkskrant 1.2.93).

Police hunt `illegals'

Police in the Hague have announced the formation of special
squads to target employers, especially in the textile industry,
who employ illegal workers (Vollksrant 30.1.93).

More details emerge about death of Turkish man

As more information emerges about how 32-year-old Huseyin Koksal
came to die in Venlo (see Bulletin No 2), the Department of
Justice has announced that there will be an enquiry.
Apparently, Huseyin Koksal was not feeling very well as he was
driving his car in the centre of Venlo in the early hours of the
morning of 6 January. Feeling dizzy, he pulled up and parked his
car. Six policemen, who thought he was drunk, proceeded to
forcibly arrest him. According to eyewitnesses, they kicked him
to the ground and beat his head against the pavement Mr Koksal
died 24 hours later. An autopsy showed that the cause of death
was a blood clot in the brain. Superficial skin damage and
bruising on the forehead was caused by `external, mechanical,
striking violence'.
A number of other details have emerged about the treatment of
Mr Koksal, both at the hands of the police and by the employees
of the security firm who guard the cells in the city's police
station.
First, the arresting police officers claim to have mistaken
Mr Koksal for his cousin, who had been arrested several crimes
by the police for drink-driving offences. However, they made
absolutely no effort to check Mr Koksal's identity once arrested;
if they had made the procedural body search, they would have
found Mr Koksal's passport confirming his identity, in his
pocket. Furthermore, no breath or blood tests were taken inside
the police station. And warnings by witnesses that Mr Koksal
needed medical treatment went unheeded. The security guards at
the police station left him in a cell for eleven hours before
calling the doctor.
Also implicated is the district prosecutor for Roermond. He
issued a statement, the following day, on behalf of the police,
saying that Mr Koksal had attempted to resist arrest In fact, Mr
Koksal had not resisted at all, but had merely pleaded to be
taken to hospital.
Meanwhile, feeling among the Turkish community in Venlo, who
have no trust in the police enquiry, is running high. `When you
come into contact with the police as a Turkish Dutchman, you are
treated as a piece of dirt and you have to fear for your
life,'one man told the newspaper (Volkskrant 26.1.93).

Opinion poll shows slight gains for far-Right

A recent opinion poll, carried out by an Amsterdam-based
organisation, the NIPO, suggests that support for the
organisation Right Centrum Democraten has grown by 1 per cent
overall and that this could result in their gaining five seats
in parliament in the next election.
The NIPO says that increased votes for the CD are linked to
public discussion about foreigners, particularly illegals. For
instance, following the Bijlmer air disaster, and the subsequent
media coverage and political debate about illegal workers caught

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