The national ombudsman has begun an investigation into two police stop and search controls in the south of Gelderland province earlier this year.

The checks on passers-by were made possible after local mayors declared the areas – a parking place on the A2 motorway and a campsite – to be ‘at risk’ of violent incidents.
The ombudsman said in a statement that stop and search procedures, known as preventief fouilleren (preventative searching), are ‘serious tools to reduce the possession of weapons and improve public safety in areas where there are many incidents involving weapons’.
The investigation will look into how many incidents involving weapons had taken place at both locations, the ombudsman’s statement said.
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