“Police Figures Show Increase in Reports of Confused Behavior Linked to Troubled Times and Health Care Shortages”

This is evident from an analysis of police figures by the Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANP).

Shortages in health care

The exact cause of the increase has yet to be investigated, according to the police, but according to a spokesperson “troubled times, shortages in mental health care and loneliness” are possible factors. The police also notice that confused behavior is often due to financial problems.

Compared to 2021, the number of reports rose most last year in the Gelderland municipalities of Hattem and Epe and in the North Brabant municipality of Oirschot.

Increase of 30 percent

Of the twenty large municipalities, the number of complaints about people with confused behavior increased most in Nijmegen, Apeldoorn and Zaanstad. In all these municipalities, the number of reports increased by about 30 percent on an annual basis.

In absolute numbers, the most complaints about confused people were in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague.

Whether the number of different individuals with confused behavior has also increased cannot be said with certainty. It is possible that several reports have been made about one confused person.

Figures may be underestimated

The police say they are concerned about the increase in the number of reports and the seriousness of the incidents. “Nuisance reports do not include violent crimes. For example, if a person in a psychosis stabs someone, this is not included in these figures.”

“As a result, the figures may be an underestimation of the actual nuisance that confused people cause,” said the police.