‘Classic investigation work is no longer sufficient’

In 2024 there were more than a thousand explosions. And according to the police, it is no longer just about drug-related violence. Since this year, there has been a national task force to tackle the explosions. Because what should happen after a year with the highest number of explosions ever?

A question that the national task force Offensive Against Explosions is worrying about it. Because there is no easy answer, says chairman Carola Schouten in an interview with News hour. “The problem is still increasing, which is why we have to look at this in a different way. Classical investigation work is no longer sufficient. Here you simply need a lot of parties, such as housing associations, employers, schools, social media and the fireworks industry itself. That’s not easy.”

The number of attacks with explosives has increased rapidly since 2021 and appears to be a Dutch phenomenon. According to police figures, there were 212 attacks involving explosives in 2021. That number has now more than fivefold, to more than 1,130 incidents involving explosives in 2024.

This year there were hits in several places every week, sometimes resulting in serious injuries and even deaths. Dozens of homes have also become completely uninhabitable afterwards. The damage is enormous and entire neighborhoods are at their wits’ end after several attacks. Such as in Vlaardingen where, after several explosions at a plumber’s house, no client has yet been arrested.

In approximately eighty percent of attacks, perpetrators use heavy illegal fireworks, filled with flash powder and a fuse. They are often Cobras, heavy fireworks that can be purchased for a few euros via Telegram. “We see that it has an impact on so many people,” says Schouten. “Of course those who are directly affected, but also the neighbors and people in the area. Such an explosion sometimes continues to reverberate for months.”

This is what a house in Rotterdam looks like after an explosion. The housing association’s ‘explosion team’ will take a look. This team provides initial care for residents after an attack:

At the beginning of this month, the task force – including representatives of municipalities, police, the Public Prosecution Service, the business community, housing associations and insurers – discussed the explosion problem for the first time. The intention is ‘it reducing the number of attacks with explosives on homes and businesses with the aim of intimidation and/or threats’.

“At first we thought it only happened in the criminal circuit, but it now appears that people simply fight out conflicts by committing an attack,” says Jos van der Stap, program manager High Impact Crime in the national police. “We even saw a few allotment garden administrators having an argument with each other, after which someone threw a cobra under someone else’s car.”

More than half of the attacks involving explosives arise from a ‘house-and-garden conflict’ between non-criminal citizens, also shows recent research of the police. For example, the recent deadly explosion at the Tarwekamp in The Hague, which killed six people in early December, appears to be based on a relationship conflict.

“The urgency is very much felt on all fronts,” says Carola Schouten, who has also been mayor of Rotterdam since October, also a city where many explosions occur. However, there are still many questions for the team at the moment. “For example, we see that this way of threatening and intimidating people seems to be a Dutch problem. We would like to know why that is.” Researchers at Erasmus University are trying to formulate an answer to this.

This year the police arrested more than 500 suspects. These often involve young men with an average age of 23, who come from a vulnerable neighborhood and have previously come into contact with the police. “Most of the people we arrest are those who place an explosive device,” said Van der Stap.

In exchange for a few hundred euros they carry out ‘a job’, sometimes without knowing who and why they are placing an explosive. “There are often all kinds of people behind it who organize this.” But the clients are often left out of the picture because suspects refuse to talk.

According to the police, in addition to regular investigative work, attention should mainly be paid to prevention. “Of course we try to catch everyone and put them in jail, but ultimately that’s putting the cart before the horse. You have to get to the front of the problem.”

The task force will meet for the second time in January. Schouten then also hopes to be able to enter into discussions with schools, social media companies and the fireworks industry itself.