Utrecht mayor wants to hold parents of Overvecht rioters liable for the damage

Utrecht mayor Sharon Dijksma has addressed the parents of minors who misbehaved in Overvecht last week about the behavior of their children. She also wants to hold them liable for the damage their sons have caused. In addition, the municipality will take all kinds of measures in the near future to quell the recent unrest.

The Utrecht police announced via X on Friday evening that it has been restless around the Overvecht shopping center for several days. “There have been disturbances around Zamenhofdreef in Utrecht for several days now. The police are now being deployed to restore peace and make the area safe again,” it said on social media.

The municipality announced at the end of the afternoon on Saturday that there was unrest on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday evenings. “Several groups of young people gathered at the Shopping Center, partly to watch, partly to confront the police. A city bus was pelted, fireworks were thrown, a fire was set and bus shelters were destroyed. Police and community boas were pelted with eggs, and people drove very fast in the parking lot.”

Contrary to what a police spokesperson said on Saturday morning, the municipality writes that four people have been arrested so far, including two minors.

Measures

All kinds of measures will be taken around the shopping center in the near future. For example, extra youth workers are deployed to contact people in the area. Additional barriers have also been installed in the parking lot this Saturday and flexible cameras will be installed as soon as possible. A number of nuisance perpetrators will be given an area ban, which means that they are no longer allowed to stay around the shopping center between 6 p.m. and 3 a.m. this weekend.

In addition, the police has drawn up a list of the nuisance perpetrators. “Conversations have been held with parents of these minors in particular since Friday,” the municipality writes. The parents of minor perpetrators of nuisance also receive a letter from the mayor, in which she addresses them about the behavior of their children and in which it is stated that Dijksma wants to hold the parents liable for the damage caused by their sons.

“Our efforts, and those of the police and partners, are aimed at returning peace to this neighborhood with this package of measures,” said the municipality of Utrecht.