The number of reports of disturbances caused by persons with confused/misunderstood behavior has been growing for several years. The Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Security has made recommendations to improve this situation through a parliamentary exploration. The Chamber will debate the implementation of these recommendations on Wednesday, May 28. You can follow the debate live via the website and Debat Direct.
For the debate, the ministers of Justice and Security David van Weel and Interior Judith Uitermark will come to the Chamber, as well as Secretary of State Vincent Karremans of Health, Welfare, and Sport.
Safety Risks
On July 4, 2024, the Committee on Justice and Security presented its parliamentary exploration. After thorough research, the committee concluded that there is a distinction between approximately 1,500 persons in the Netherlands with a high safety risk who pose a danger to themselves or their environment and the much larger group of persons exhibiting confused/misunderstood behavior that does not pose acute safety risks. This group does cause disturbances or gives the environment a sense of insecurity. For the group with high risk, much is already possible, for example regarding coercive measures or sharing information. This is less applicable to the group without acute safety risks.
Recommendations
The committee makes several recommendations. For example, it must be clearer at local, regional, and national levels who is responsible for the situation. The police must also be relieved.
What is a parliamentary exploration?
With targeted research questions, a committee maps the insights of experts, stakeholders, and involved officials on a particular subject. The committee can deploy the research questions in various ways: for example, by requesting written input from experts or organizations, or by organizing roundtable discussions where experts and/or stakeholders share their knowledge and vision. A combination of these methods is also possible. The goal is for members of parliament to gain relevant and in-depth knowledge of the issue.
Parliamentary exploration confused/misunderstood behavior
The Committee on Justice and Security has used various instruments in the parliamentary exploration. Written input has been requested from twelve organizations. Additionally, researcher Bauke Koekkoek has written a scientific factsheet on the subject. On May 29, 2024, a technical briefing was held by the involved ministries, followed by a roundtable discussion with experts and representatives of organizations on May 30, 2024. The gathered information and insights were used for the final report that was published on July 4, 2024. The policy response from the cabinet to the final report of the Parliamentary Exploration on confused misunderstood behavior and safety was sent to the Tweede Kamer on November 18, 2024.
Follow live and read more
- Follow the debate from 15:25 via the livestream or External link:Debat Direct. Via Debat Direct kunt u het debat ook later terugkijken.
- Read the documents related to this meeting.