Halsema wants to give boas baton | Inland

At the moment, only boas in public transport have batons. However, boas in the street often have to deal with aggression and cannot defend themselves.

Halsema wants to ask Minister Grapperhaus to arm a maximum of twenty boas in the city center as a trial. The pilot will start in the autumn and will run for a year. In total, about 40 to 50 will have to be trained for it, she expects. The use of the baton is bound by rules, according to the mayor.

“In practice it will only be used by the boa in case of (threat of) serious physical violence against the boa. The aim is to keep the attacker at bay. In this way, the time can be bridged until the police arrive on the scene to relieve the boa ”, the letter states.

Earlier Monday, the Dutch Boa Bond announced that boas in Amsterdam are campaigning again on Wednesday afternoon to draw more attention to aggression against enforcers. The immediate cause is the assault of an extraordinary investigating officer (boa) in the capital last Friday. It is still unclear when the ministry will decide whether Amsterdam may participate in the trial.

–