Serious Organised Crime Dialogue

Minister David van Weel of Justice and Security delivered a speech at the Serious Organised Crime Dialogue in Londen.

Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,
It’s a pleasure to attend this third Serious Organised Crime Dialogue. And what an impressive location! The Lincoln’s Inn has been for centuries a home to aspiring lawyers, to judges, and to so many others working in the profession.
As a former naval officer, I can understand the sense of fellowship such units create. Because together you stand stronger and you reach further.

That sense of fellowship brings me to the purpose of this dialogue and other talks I’ll be having today. Which is to promote collaboration, share ideas and exchange best practices.
As we’re doing here and now, regarding maritime drug flows, illicit financial flows and continued offending in detention. The last of which is also a serious issue in the Netherlands.
Lord Timpson, I think there’s a lot we can learn from each other in that area.

Over the past few years, in the Netherlands we’ve developed a broad approach to dealing with subversive organised crime.
We’ve strengthened organisations, expanded capacity and tightened legislation. Because standing idle in the face of organised crime is simply not an option.

Criminals keep changing their products, methods and routes. So we have to be persistent, adapt our techniques and act more quickly.

In my policy I focus special attention on three points in particular: resilience, anti-corruption and an international approach. Allow me to elaborate on all three.

Firstly I’ll explain what I’m pointing at when I say ‘resilience’. Besides the action taken by the government and the authorities, everyone has a part to play in resisting subversive organised crime.

Businesses need to defend themselves against organised crime, just like they protect their systems against cyber criminals.
Security and resilience need to be a major topic of discussion, from the very top, right down to the work floor.

In the Netherlands we have started a public information campaign, entitled ‘Keep crime out of your neighbourhood’.
The campaign makes people aware of signs of organised crime close to home and provides information on what to do.
Reports by businesses, civil society organisations and local residents are helpful in identifying weak spots.

In vulnerable neighbourhoods in our cities, we’re focusing a lot of attention on young people, sometimes still children, who are at risk of being targeted by criminals.
That’s not a soft approach, because they need a firm hand.
If young people accept our authority, we provide them an opportunity for a better life, away from the world of crime.

My second emphasis is on anti-corruption. We are all increasingly aware of how criminals are targeting and infiltrating our institutions and organisations. And not just in the Netherlands.
According to Europol, 86 per cent of the criminal networks that pose the greatest threats in Europe make use of legal business structures. They are looking for information, data, market access, or money-laundering opportunities.

Their victims are people in difficult personal situations, with interesting roles in their organisations that can be useful to criminals. For instance local government officials who provide them with passports. We had such a case in The Hague. And this is an international risk. So, my message to both entrepreneurs and directors is: make sure that people in your company or organisation don’t become isolated. Teach them to stand strong together. Yes, like naval officers. And talk about it – a lot!

My third priority within our approach is International cooperation. The Netherlands is situated in a strategic location and has good infrastructure. Over the centuries this has helped us attract a great deal of trade and income. Unfortunately it attracts crime too. Criminals use our country as a marketplace for drugs and as a gateway to the European market.
90 per cent of the drugs that enter the Netherlands are transported on to other countries.

The German police have reported that drugs are now being brought directly into Germany, due to tightened controls in Dutch and Belgian ports. So reinforcement is needed everywhere.

We’re dealing with multinational criminal organisations. The only way we can stop them is if like-minded countries, such as the UK and NL, keep helping and supporting each other.
The Netherlands is taking a leading role in combating international drug crime in Europe.
We’re proud of our ground-breaking techniques, which have led to the dismantling of encrypted chat services such as EncroChat in 2020 and MATRIX last year.

I also want to further strengthen ties with source and transit countries for cocaine. And we’re looking at West Africa in terms of expanding those ties.

These are the highlights of my approach. We’re fully aware of course this is not just a Dutch problem. All around the world we’re dealing with organised drug gangs that are driven by money and power. Criminal gangs move fast and adapt swiftly, and so must we. What’s worked in the past may not always work in the future. So we must constantly learn from each other.

Every country must fully understand who their partners in this fight are and who they are fighting against.
I believe it’s crucial for both our countries to share information, within the frameworks set by the EU.

The Netherlands and the UK have long been collaborating in the areas of policing and legal assistance, especially in criminal cases – both within the EU and bilaterally.
Policymakers and staff of implementing organisations, such as those here today, find ways to work together effectively. Despite the differences between our legal systems. Thanks to the network of liaisons and other elements of the implementing organisations, we’re able to take joint action quickly when needed. You engage with one another and collaborate with mutual respect. That is commendable! 

Ladies and gentlemen, a transnational problem requires transnational cooperation. It’s vital that we engage with each other on this subject, within the scope of what is currently possible. This dialogue, the third in a row, is a great format for that.

Despite Brexit the UK and the Netherlands remain good neighbours, separated by less than 300 kilometres of North Sea. That’s about the same as from here to Sheffield. But with fewer traffic jams!

In the Netherlands we say that it’s better to have a good neighbour than a distant friend.
So, let’s work together to frustrate the efforts of criminals.
Let’s hit their operations the hardest.
And let’s close the net on the perpetrators of organised crime from all directions!

Thank you.