PISSED: DUTCH POLICE DOESN’T PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE
Dear steemians, (regular readers, my apologies about this rant but I have to get it off my chest. I hope you will understand.)
Lately we have been having increasing trouble with our neighbours who are letting their animals roam on our land. Destroying our property and dumping their things on our land and also trying to steal some of it by putting a fence way over the property line.
Time after time we went to talk to them and try to take measures to prevent them getting on our place and destroying our things.
No result.
So after today’s discovery of “material dumping” on my land I called the cops.
After all if you check the police info they said to call in these cases, there to protect your rights!
Trespassing, illegal dumping, destroying our possessions to name a few. All things which shouldn’t be allowed by law.
So I got this police officer on the phone and he said..
This is not a police matter
uhm.. excuse me?..
This is not a police matter…
It had to sink in for a while.
The officer also said with a stern voice NOT to return the stuff to the property that it came from, that would lead to conflict..
EXCUSE ME???!!!
Trying to keep my calm I kindly asked what the officer suggested I’d do. He said to go to the municipality, the problem is the municipality have no jurisdiction over private property so they redirect you to the police (it is their job!).
The conversation continued but they were crystal clear in their message to let the guilty party just walk over you and we (the police) ain’t do shit about that.
Stunned
BY LAW we have some rights as landowners among other things yet it isn’t enforced in any way. I am forced to do nothing and deal with this abuse. In fact if I do something I am the guilty party now…
WHAT THE HECK?!
I have been a good citizen, an example for others, to be treated like this?
To have meaningless rights?? If I would graze my cow near the highway, wreck a piece or two and dumped a bag of trash you will surely get police involved, transfer that to private property and you can just shun it off? My goodness!
We have put so much love, effort and every penny into this property. We do everything by hand, blood sweat ‘n tears. Opened up our garden for neighbourhood kids to come pick flowers, petting chickens and have a good time.
To having to explain to them kids that they can’t come anymore because they might get hurt on somebody else’s rubble. To having my plants be destroyed by the neighbours and my fence damaged, my land polluted with whatever they decide to throw this way.
So as I said at the beginning of this article, I am pissed. It is not easy to get me angry, but pissed? Now that’s a real feat to accomplish!
I can’t kick people of my lawn like the US and am essentially powerless right now unless I turn this place into a prison with tall concrete walls costing a fortune and blocking all views, which I don’t want and can’t afford either.
Right now the law is being broken, my stuff is being wrecked and I’m being abandoned by the LAW ENFORCERS. This I can’t understand.
This has to STOP right now.
I don't know how the law works in Holland, but if it's anything like the UK and Australia, you have to actually take them to court personally. It's pretty much getting the same the world over, that the police force isn't there to protect and serve, but to make money.
Can you show them something in writhing which says that this is their area to deal with? Having said that, maybe that's how they deal with it. Or maybe you could talk to the press about it. 😉
If I had the recording of the phone call I would have send it to the press.
ironically their own info said to call them. A lawyer isn't going to do much good right now unless I buy a camera and set it on the border but then it becomes a privacy issue on their side. Privacy is highly valued here when it comes to video footage.
I know it's not the same everywhere but we should be able to count on the cops in a situation like this.
If I take matters into my own hands I am the one in the wrong.