National Threat Assessment 2008. Organised Crime - Politie

Robberies can be described as the removal or extortion of any commodity,
or any attempt to do so, using violence or under threat of violence, and are
perpetrated against people who are located in a sealed-off area or against a
planned/organised (security) transport. A robbery is considered to include taking
the (daily) proceeds of a business during transport from the business to a
home or bank safe, and stealing from a cash machine in a sealed-off area.
Ram raids are thefts committed by using particular resources to break through
the front of a building or an entrance door to a business or shop. The exact
way in which a ram raid is carried out differs from one case to another. The use
of (stolen) cars is most widespread, but there have also been cases in which
a power shovel was used or where the criminals used explosives to gain access
to the loot (‘explosive raid’).
4.6.2 General context
Robberies and ram raids include an element of violence that is instrumental
to this criminal activity. In robberies the most widely used form of violence is
physical violence, in which weapons are used or the criminals threaten to use
weapons on the victims. In ram raids the use of violence is aimed at damaging
a building in order to gain access. A direct confrontation with victims and the
threat of violence associated with such a confrontation are not necessary to carry
out ram raids.
According to trade associations, the use of violence in robberies has recently
increased. The police have also stated that an increasing level of violence is
being used against people during robberies. The Landelijk Overvallen en
Ramkrakensysteem (LORS: National Robberies and Ram Raids System), which
is a database administered by IPOL at the Netherlands Police Agency, shows that
between 1994 and 2001 robberies only involved a limited amount of physical
violence (usually not more than tying up the victims). Since 2001 there have
been more reports of physical violence during robberies. The perpetrators of
robberies have used harder methods. The risk of being injured during a robbery
has increased in the past two years. Five people were killed in the first six months
of 2007, compared to four throughout all of 2006.
The material damage to buildings as a result of ram raids in the past has made
owners in the potential target group – jewellers, for example – increase the
security level of their shops, for instance by placing iron or concrete posts in
front of the shop. As a result, criminals now carry out ram raids in between posts
using a power shovel or a rubbish container, or break shop windows using heavy
manhole covers and hammers. There have also been cases where ram raiders
sabotaged patrol cars or blocked off gates to police stations in advance in order
to avoid a confrontation with the police.
166 National Threat Assessment 2008 – Organised crime