Rotterdam’s young criminals say goodbye to the beloved juvenile officer

It is not often that the death of a prosecutor releases as many emotions in the courtroom as this week in Rotterdam. There, during a hearing on Wednesday and a farewell meeting yesterday, the death of young prosecutor Ad de Beer (69) was discussed.

Fellow officers and lawyers did not hold out, and several young convicts spoke highly of “Mister De Beer”, even though he sometimes ensured that they received high sentences.

“I thought he was a tough, even annoying prosecutor. Because of him, I got youthful TBS,” Jayden said at the farewell meeting. Jayden is not a sweetheart. He had previously been convicted of robbery with violence. “But thanks to my efforts, he also lifted that juvenile TBS after two years, while the experts wanted to extend the sentence. He did his job and supported me, sent me home and wished me a good life “.

Ad De Beer died suddenly on New Year’s Day. That evening he was preparing for last Wednesday’s hearing, the first after the Christmas break. My colleague Daniëlle van Zetten took over the session, she added Rijnmond. “As soon as I entered the courtroom, the tears came. You felt everything: she should have been here, this was the case with her,” she says. “I also had the idea that she was there all day.”

On Wednesday ten suspected minors were tried before the youth council chamber: the judge decided whether they will be held longer. These were serious crimes: shooting into buildings, robbery with gun, drug thieves, bus stabbing. But the judge didn’t start right away. He left room for emotions. Not just with Prosecutor Van Zetten, but with everyone. Even with the suspects.

Van Zetten: “A very experienced lawyer could not continue during his appeal. He broke down in tears. A mother of one of the boys was also very moved. She said of Ad de Beer: ‘My son is obviously not cute’ But he he was a good boy. He had eyes for my son. That mother showed me her phone: Ad’s number and her photo. How special is that?”

De Beer was the last person in the prosecutor’s office who still owned an old Nokia. Until he too had to use his smartphone. When he transferred his contacts, most of his names were under the letter “M”: mother of, mother of, mother of …

Marian was one of those mothers, she said at the farewell meeting. His son Remco was prosecuted by De Beer for assault. “Look, my son hit, that’s not allowed. But De Beer treated him like a person, he said he respected him.”

During the hearing and during the farewell meeting, the lawyers claimed that they had been called spontaneously by underage clients in recent days. That the boys are so sorry that “Mister De Beer” is dead.

“He was not just a colleague, but an icon, the personification of the human dimension,” said Chief Prosecutor Hugo Hillenaar during the farewell meeting. “Ad personally went to the border to collect suspects who had been arrested in Belgium. He spoke clearly, the boys knew exactly what to do with him. Thanks to his unorthodox approach, many young people had a new chance.”

Fellow officer Rolan van Dongen: “I remember a youthful case where the suspect saw me and asked: ‘where is Mr. De Beer?’ As if he were their private officer. Even his name is engraved in the detention room.”