Enforcing new street intimidation law “major challenge” according to unions

NOS News•today, 10:36

Enforcing the national ban on sexual street harassment will be a major challenge for the police and boas. This is what the boa and police unions of the ACP say to the research program Pointer, which examined the feasibility of the law. The accumulation of even more tasks will be a “very big challenge,” according to Richard Gerrits of the Boa trade union ACP.

The Senate approved the Sexual Crimes Act in March. This allows victims of sexual assault and rape to report crimes without having to provide evidence of coercion. The same law also covers sexual harassment in public. People who shout sexually explicit comments at others on the street can be prosecuted. The law applies from July 1.

According to the unions, the fact that the law is now finally being introduced nationally is not a problem. The Public Prosecution Service also welcomes the law and opposes it Pointer It is “very nice to find that there are now frameworks within which enforcement can take place”. According to boa union chairman Gerrits, the concerns lie with the implementation, which lies with both the police and the boas. According to him, the boa is gradually becoming “the jack of all trades of society.”

The police have also been struggling with capacity problems for a long time. The new law will soon allow the police to catch perpetrators of street intimidation red-handed. But that could be very difficult, according to Police Association spokesperson Ramon Meijerink.

“If we walk in uniform, we won’t hear it. Then we would have to go in plain clothes, for example. And then there must be supporting evidence to actually impose a fine on someone. That is where our concerns lie.”

According to the spokesperson for the boa union, Rotterdam and Utrecht will in any case experiment with tackling street intimidation. For the pilot, boas are being trained who can take to the streets in plain clothes from July, with the aim of catching people in the act.

The intention is to draw up as many official reports as possible, so that at least some of them can be submitted to the judge after a year.