Holland had 250 hoax bomb threats in 2008

The emergency services are called out to deal with hoax bomb warnings at least 250 times a year, according to research by the Nederlands Dagblad.


The figures do not include suspicious parcels, packages and luggage or suspected letter bombs.
The paper bases its claims on interviews with police chiefs. Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam officials declined to cooperate with the research because they feared it would prompt more hoax calls, the paper said.
Schiphol airport dealt with 56 hoax bomb threats last year.
The maximum sentence for making a hoax bomb threat was increased from two weeks to four years in jail in 2004. But most people who are caught get community service, the paper says.

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