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Dutch squatting ban

Protesters confront police in Amsterdam over the squatting ban
Date	1 October 2010 (2010-10-01)
Location	Amsterdam, other cities in the Netherlands

The Dutch squatting ban refers to the law (Dutch: Wet Kraken en Leegstand) introduced on 1 October 2010, under which squatting in the Netherlands became de jure illegal. There were riots in Amsterdam and Nijmegen and several other protests. Squatters converged, occupying a former fire station.

History

In 1978, the Council of Churches launched a protest which scotched a proposal to criminalise squatting. In June 2006, two ministers from the Dutch government (Sybilla Dekker and Piet Hein Donner) proposed a plan to make squatting illegal. Other ministers, such as Alexander Pechtold, were not in favor of this plan. Representatives of the four largest Dutch cities wrote a letter stating that it would not be in their interest to ban squatting.

Action

Several parties, notably the VVD party, were vocal critics of squatting. Backed by the leader of the PVV, Geert Wilders, they moved to outlaw squatting. The new squatting ban was passed by the House of Representatives on 15 October 2009 and the Senate on 1 June 2010, and became law on 1 October 2010. The penalty is one year's imprisonment or more, if violence is involved. Mayor of Amsterdam Eberhard van der Laan, and police commissioner Leen Schaap stated their joint intention to clear roughly 200 of 300 squats in Amsterdam, and to treat squatting as a criminal offence.

Sociologist E.T.C. Dee observes that there was a moral panic generated in the Dutch media regarding three accusations made by the police concerning booby traps and weapons caches in the squats of Amsterdam. Thus the squatters' movement was seen as increasingly violent and needing to be regulated.

Criminalization

The recently elected coalition government proposed a squatting ban on 1 June. The law was passed by both houses of parliament and came into force on 1 October. Former moves to ban squatting had been unsuccessful. In June 2006, ministers Sybilla Dekker and Piet Hein Donner from the Dutch government proposed a plan to criminalise squatting. Other ministers, such as Alexander Pechtold, were not in favour. Representatives of the four largest Dutch cities wrote a letter stating that it would not be in their interests to proceed with a ban.

Reaction

Squatting became a criminal offence at midnight on 1 October 2010, passing from the civil courts to the criminal courts. An Amsterdam protest numbering 800–1000 by various estimates occurred during the day. Protesters responded throwing stones, bricks and bottles at police and vandalising cars. Protesters built ad hoc street barricades from metal fences and bicycles.

Post-criminalization

On 28 October 2011, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands decided that the legally forced end of squatting can only occur after an intervention of a judge.

The Dutch government assessed the effectiveness of the new law in 2015, releasing a report giving statistics on arrests and convictions between October 2010 and December 2014. During this time period, 529 people have been arrested for the act of occupying derelict buildings in 213 separate incidents. Of the 529 arrests, 210 were found guilty. Of those convicted, 39 people were imprisoned for the new offence.

References

1. "Kraakmeer @ Weesperzijde 99, Amsterdam". Whatever.squat.net. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
2. "Kraken wordt strafbaar". Nu.nl. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
3. "Grote steden tegen verbod op kraken". Nu.nl. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2012.
4. ^ "Violent protests after Dutch outlaw squatting - Once-respected tradition of living in unused buildings is now a crime". NBC News. 30 April 1980. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
5. ^ "BBC News report on squatter protests". Bbc.co.uk. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
6. "Squatting in Amsterdam". DutchAmsterdam.nl. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
7. Dee, E.T.C. (2016). "The Production of Squatters as Folk Devils: Analysis of a Moral Panic that Facilitated the Criminalization of Squatting in the Netherlands". Deviant Behavior. 37 (7): 784–794. doi:10.1080/01639625.2016.1145019.
8. "Kraken wordt strafbaar". Nu.nl. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
9. Letter to Minister Dekker from four main cities Archived 8 October 2010 at the Wayback Machine
10. "Grote steden tegen verbod op kraken". Nu.nl. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2014.
11. "Agenten, paarden en krakers gewond" [Agents, horses and squatters wounded]. AT5 Nieuws (in Dutch). Amsterdam. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2012. Ook tegen een groep krakers die in de Raadhuisstraat het publiek met stenen bekogelde trad de politie op. (The police also advanced against a group of squatters on the Raadhuisstraat that were throwing stones at the public.)
12. "Squatters riot in Amsterdam". Stuff.co.nz. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
13. Dee, E.T.C. (2016). "The Production of Squatters as Folk Devils: Analysis of a Moral Panic that Facilitated the Criminalization of Squatting in the Netherlands". Deviant Behavior. 37 (7): 784–794. doi:10.1080/01639625.2016.1145019.
14. "The vacancy crunch: The current housing crisis in the Netherlands and the repression of squatting". CNS Blog. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.

• Use dmy dates from July 2013
• Dutch law
• Squatting in the Netherlands