Safety

A crisis or disaster such as a flu pandemic, a flood or a terrorist attack can disrupt society. Safety is put at risk. What can you do (in advance)?

Preparing for a disaster

• Would you like more information on how to prepare for a disaster? Visit the website denkvooruit.nl
• Every region is required to have a regional contingency plan which sets out, amongst other things, who is responsible for what during a disaster. On the website of the North and East Gelderland Safety Region You can find this and further information here.

When the siren goes off

Every first Monday of the month, the Netherlands carries out a siren test at 12.00. If you notice that a siren is not working when it normally would be, please report this by calling 14 055. If the siren sounds on a different day or at a different time, then there really is a problem.

1. Follow the instructions given by the police, the fire service, the emergency services and/or the local authority

2. Go straight in

3. Close doors and windows to keep any harmful gases out

4. Tune in to the local radio or TV (see the channel guide on the Omroep Gelderland’s website), view NOS Teletext, visit www.crisis.nl or check any available information via your mobile phone, social media, NL Alert or Burgernet (see ‘Quick information’).

You can find more information on exactly what to do when the siren sounds on the website of the Central Government.

Quick information

You can get quick information about an incident or disaster via, for example, Burgernet or NL-Alert.

Social media can also be a source of information. During a disaster or emergency, Apeldoorn Council also uses various social media platforms to share news updates. Follow us (for this reason too) on Facebook and Instagram. The North and East Gelderland Safety Region is also on Twitter can be found.

Staff from the council’s Prevention, Monitoring and Enforcement (PTH) team work to ensure the council’s area remains clean, liveable and safe. Would you like to bring a particular situation to the council’s attention? You can do so via the page public space reports Report it online. You can, of course, also call the local council; you can reach us on 14055.

Below you can read about how you can help to improve safety in your neighbourhood.

• On the police website Here you will find tips on how to prevent burglaries, street muggings, car break-ins and so on
• WhatsApp neighbourhood watch. In recent years, a large number of neighbourhood watch groups have been set up in Apeldoorn. This means that large numbers of local residents in Apeldoorn are on the lookout for suspicious situations, respond to them sensibly and report them. Would you like to set up a WhatsApp group, or have you already done so? If so, you may be able to request promotional material for it. The promotional material that you, as You can set up a WhatsApp group consists of:
  – One set of stickers per group.
  – For each neighbourhood where there is an active neighbourhood-wide WhatsApp group, the so-called WhatsApp noticeboards
  For details of the neighbourhood classifications, see the CBS district and neighbourhood classification
• Regular inspections are carried out to ensure compliance with fire safety regulations. Information on fire safety in the region can be found on the Fire Service website
• Burgernet keeps residents informed about current events relating to neighbourhood safety. You will receive information via text message or voice message about, for example, a missing person or a burglar who has been spotted in the area
• Neighbourhood watch volunteers walk or cycle through the neighbourhood, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. They chat to local residents, which helps them stay informed about what’s going on in the neighbourhood. They also alert residents to any unsafe situations. You can sign up via your local police officer.
• The ‘Politiekeurmerk Veilig Wonen’ (PKVW) is a security scheme that helps to improve safety in and around homes, housing estates, neighbourhoods and districts. PKVW-accredited companies can provide you with further information on how to secure your home. See www.politiekeurmerk.nl
• You can report an illegal cannabis farm (or a suspected one) by calling 0900-8844 (police) or Report Crime Anonymously on 0800-7000. Further information can be found on the police website.

When residents of Apeldoorn need healthcare, it is important that it is affordable and of good quality. Local authorities are responsible for monitoring the quality and legitimacy of the care provided by healthcare providers. By ‘legality’, we mean: is everything being done in accordance with the laws and regulations? This is usually the case, but unfortunately fraud does occur in the healthcare sector too. As a result, residents sometimes do not receive the care they so desperately need. In such cases, it is important that we are able to intervene. On the Healthcare Regulation page You can read more about how we organise our supervisory activities and where you can make a report.

What should you do in the event of flooding following heavy rain?

Is there an immediate danger to people or animals? Call the fire brigade on 112. If you’re unsure whether there is an immediate danger, call 112 anyway. The control room will make a professional assessment. Examples of immediate danger include the risk of a short circuit or fire.

Is there no immediate danger to people or animals? Get a pump from a DIY shop or call in a specialist company to pump the water out of the room. If the water level in the room is only a few centimetres deep, you can use a wet vacuum or a bucket and mop. Is the situation not urgent, but do you still need the fire brigade? Call 0900-0904.

For more tips, visit the website of the North and East Netherlands Safety Region.

Apeldoorn is beautifully situated amidst the vast forests of the Veluwe. There is a real risk that we may be faced with a wildfire. Particularly if there is a prolonged dry spell, such a fire can get out of control. We must all work together to prevent this from happening.

Prevent a wildfire

Wildfires are often caused by human behaviour. The fire service offers Tips for preventing wildfires. It also helps to how to make your garden fire-safe.

What you can do

Phase 1 involves a standard level of risk.
During phase 2, we ask you to be particularly vigilant.

• Phase 1: No additional measures have been taken. However, it is always advisable to exercise caution.
• Phase 2: Please take extra care. Dispose of cigarettes and glass in a bin or take them with you. Also be mindful of barbecue coals or piles of garden waste (which may be smouldering). Do not park your car with a hot catalytic converter in tall, dry grass. Do not use fire pits, torches, sky lanterns or fireworks. Do not cook over an open fire using solid fuels, such as wood or charcoal/briquettes.
• Have you spotted a fire or a suspicious situation? Call 112 straight away.

A wildfire after all?

• Call 112 and give the exact location of the fire.
• Don’t wait for help; run away as quickly and as far as possible, heading for a public road if you can.
• Don’t run ahead of the fire; run at right angles to it, so that it doesn’t catch up with you.
• Help other people and children to get to a safe place.

CCTV security and CCTV surveillance

More and more private individuals and businesses are installing cameras to secure their property. This is permitted subject to certain conditions. In addition, the local authority sometimes installs cameras in public spaces. In such cases, the aim of this CCTV surveillance is to ensure that public order is better maintained. It assists the police in preventing and detecting criminal offences. At the same time, CCTV surveillance also enhances the sense of safety among residents and visitors to such areas.
However, there are certain rules governing the installation of cameras in and around homes, shops, businesses, parks, car parks and also in public spaces.   These rules are based on national legislation, including legislation relating to privacy, and on regulations set out in the General Local By-laws (APV).

Private cameras

Installing cameras in private, personal spaces to protect one’s own property and, for example, staff is always permitted, provided that it is clearly indicated – for example, by means of signs – that CCTV surveillance is in operation. These private cameras must not be directed towards public spaces. The issue of ‘privacy’ plays a particularly important role here.
All the rules and conditions for installing cameras on ‘private property’ can be found on the the Dutch Data Protection Authority’s website.

• The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) is the supervisory body for CCTV surveillance and can take enforcement action, for example where a camera is positioned to monitor a public space.
• If you believe that your neighbour’s CCTV camera is not correctly positioned – for example, because it is pointing into your garden or onto a public road – we advise you to speak to your neighbour first. If this does not lead to a solution, you can submit a report or a request for enforcement to the Dutch Data Protection Authority, or initiate civil proceedings. The local council and the police cannot take enforcement action in such cases.

Cameras in businesses and shops

• Many shops and businesses now have CCTV. This helps to protect property and staff and to prevent criminal offences as far as possible. The conditions under which business owners, shopkeepers or company owners may install CCTV, some of which is directed towards public spaces, are set out in the Policy Framework for CCTV Security in Apeldoorn.
  However, it is sometimes difficult to draw a distinction between private and public spaces.
• In a shopping centre, for example, there is a public-private space where the floor inside a shop is owned by the business owner and where the public may enter freely. However, the ‘aisles’ between the shops are public spaces, except in the case of a covered shopping centre that is only open at certain times. In the case of business parks, all space outside the company perimeter fences is ‘public space’.
• CCTV surveillance in (private) public spaces – that is, outside one’s own premises (including on industrial estates and in shopping centres) – is only permitted if a security assessment has shown that this is the appropriate measure. This means that:
  • CCTV surveillance must be proportionate: security must actually be at risk. This can be demonstrated by figures from the police, the fire service or security firms. Installing CCTV cameras as a precautionary measure, when there is no actual threat, is therefore not permitted.
  • CCTV surveillance is a secondary measure: shop and business owners must first have taken all necessary steps themselves to prevent crime.
  • The area in question must also hold a ‘Safe Business’ quality mark (KVO). Cooperation between the various businesses is a prerequisite for achieving KVO status.

Municipal CCTV cameras

• In some situations, CCTV surveillance in public spaces may be necessary. For example, in Apeldoorn’s nightlife district, to maintain public order. The nightlife area around Caterplein and the Stationstunnel are both designated CCTV zones by the city council, as laid down in the General Public Order By-laws (APV). These cameras record footage continuously, which is deleted after a maximum of 28 days.
• In addition, in exceptional cases, the mayor may temporarily install cameras at a particular location in the interests of public order. For example, in the event of persistent serious nuisance (including neighbourhood nuisance), demonstrations or ongoing criminal activity.
• Finally, the local authority sometimes installs cameras, either temporarily or permanently, to monitor traffic flows. Footage from these cameras is of such a quality that vehicles or individuals are not identifiable, or in a few cases are barely identifiable, and the footage is not retained for longer than a maximum of 72 hours. Based on these observations, traffic lights are adjusted more effectively or traffic measures are taken to improve traffic flow.

Where are the cameras?

The municipality of Apeldoorn has installed the following cameras in public spaces:

• Designated camera zones:
  • Caterplein, Hoofdstraat, Nieuwstraat, Beekpark, Kapelstraat and van Kinsbergenstraat nightlife area: 17 cameras
  • Station Tunnel: 5 cameras in the tunnel
    Please note: The CCTV camera on the south side near the cycle park is owned by NS
• Temporary CCTV cameras for the purposes of maintaining public order:
  • There will be temporary CCTV surveillance at the Oranjetipje in Apeldoorn from 3 December 2024 until Monday 6 January 2025. Further information can be found in the designation decision.
  • De Eglantier Shopping Centre: 5 cameras in the shopping area
• Fixed traffic monitoring cameras:
  • Zutphensestraat/Laan van Osseveld/Laan van Erica: 4 cameras
  • Zutphensestraat/Landgoedlaan: 3 cameras
  • Laan van Erica/Voorwaarts: 3 cameras
  • Kayersdijk/Laan van Malkenschoten/Lange Amerikaweg: 3 cameras
  • Laan van Malkenschoten/Oude Apeldoornseweg: 1 camera
  • Oost Veluweweg/Laan van de Leeuw/Stadhoudersmolen: 2 cameras
• Temporary traffic cameras:
  traffic cameras installed at a location for a short period (usually a few days). This is usually done to count the volume of traffic passing a particular point.
• Protection of property:
  To protect its property, the local council has also installed cameras at the automatic traffic bollards around the shopping area in the town centre. These cameras only detect vehicles passing these traffic bollards.
• Municipal cycle parking facilities; CCTV cameras are installed here to protect property and staff.
• The Marktplein, Koningshaven, Brinkpark, Orpheus and Anklaar car parks are also fitted with CCTV cameras.

All information regarding the conditions for implementing CCTV security and the requirements for a security assessment can be found in the Policy framework.

The popularity of ‘drones’ has grown significantly. They are increasingly common in the skies. Flying these small unmanned aeroplanes or helicopters is fun and offers countless possibilities. To ensure that flying drones is safe for everyone, there are rules in place, and these apply to everyone. Even if you’re flying a small toy drone, you’re still considered an ‘airspace user’ and the air traffic rules apply.

At a safe distance

An important rule is that you must not fly a drone over groups of people, built-up areas, roads (including railways) or other structures. This includes flying over a fun event. You are also not allowed to fly higher than 120 metres above ground level. As drones pose a risk to other aircraft, such as fire-fighting and air ambulance helicopters, you must land your drone immediately if another aircraft approaches. It is also forbidden to fly near airports such as Teuge or Deelen, or other ‘no-fly zones’. Filming and photography with a drone are permitted, provided you respect other people’s privacy. This means you must not fly in gardens or over enclosed (commercial) premises. In such cases, ALWAYS ask the owner’s permission first.

Enforcement

Enforcement of the rules on flying drones is the responsibility of the police. Failure to comply with the rules may result in a fine and the drone may be seized.

A summary of the main rules for flying drones safely

• Check that you have adequate insurance cover (third-party liability insurance)
• Check your drone before every flight
• Do not fly over people, roads, railways, buildings or other structures
• Always keep your drone within sight
• Only fly during daylight hours
• Keep a safe distance from, and give way to, all other aircraft
• Do not fly higher than 120 metres above the ground or the water
• Stay away from all airports (both large and small) and other no-fly zones (such as Schiphol’s approach routes and military low-altitude flight zones)
• Filming and photography are permitted, but please respect everyone’s privacy

Commercial use of drones

To fly drones professionally – for example, to take photographs on commission or to carry out inspections – you need a certificate. Further information on this and on flying drones safely can be found at www.rijksoverheid.nl/drones.