In an interview with VRT News the Mayor of Antwerp Bart De Wever (nationalist) has responded to an incident on Sunday evening in which 3 youths stole an ambulance while its crew were responding to a call. Mr De Wever said that starting next legislature he wants to roll out a programme of civic internships for pupils in the 5th and 6th years of secondary education.
Antwerp’s Mayor responds to ambulance theft with a proposal to introduce civic internships for pupils in the last two years of secondary school
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He says that the aim of the internships would to instill respect into youngsters. Mr De Wever condemned what he described as an increase in loutish behaviour against those conceived by youths to represent the authorities such as firefighters, paramedics and doctors. He added that this is not unique to Antwerp.
Last weekend 3 young men stole an ambulance that was on a callout in the Luchtbal area of Antwerp. The youths took the ambulance for a so called “joyride”.
Speaking on VRT Radio 1’s morning news and current affairs programme ‘De ochtend’ Mr De Wever said "Sadly these kinds of cases are not unique. We are recording more and more cases of violence against anyone perceived to represent the authorities. For examble, ambulance crews, firefighters and social workers".
Mr De Wever went on to say that the perpetrators “Are almost always youngsters with foreign, mainly non-European, roots that often grow up in our cities without many prospects. They also often have links to criminal organisations. That those individuals appeared in the footage came as no surprise. They are well-known to police and have a list of offences to their names that is a mile long”.
“The root of all these problems seems to me to be our migration policy with which we give a lot of people that have few prospects access to our country. Their children have difficult upbringings because their parents have started a family without having the socio-economic wherewithal to do so”.
Civic internships and stiffer sentences
Mr De Wever has 2 proposals to address the address the issue. " At the municipal level, I would like to roll out civic internships for pupils in the last 2 years of secondary school. I would do this during the next legislature. I want to require them to spend 1 week in the 5th year and 1 week in the 6th year of secondary school working in, for example, the city maintenance department or in an old people's home”
“I hope young people will come out of the internship with more respect for the people who make society run and ensure the cleanliness of the city. Though I don't know if you reach this target group with that. Those boys are obviously already too far gone and they are no longer in school”.
“That is why I also think the justice system should finally be allowed to implement zero tolerance and summary justice. The Justice Department has to get the resources to enable it to do so and we need to make the necessary changes to the law. I don't say much about the federal coalition negotiations, but there is consensus among the parties that the Justice Department will be strengthened."