The men and women of Supervision and Enforcement in the municipalities of Harden berg and Omen will soon be wearing stab-proof vests which have reflective tapes. Are the BOAs then so unsafe? BOA’s Ramrodding Mamet (56) and Hank (52) (‘No name in the paper, because we do not always make friends with our work’) Stentor-reporter Ingrid Stinker take part in Descartes and talk about their activities.
The two-way radios swing at the straps of Ramrodding and Hank. They walk from multifunctional center DE Baron DE Australasian. The BOAs, or Extraordinary Investigation Officers, are there to signal the minor offenses. Dog droppings on the sidewalk, car parks that have been parked incorrectly. This afternoon they focus on error parkers in the blue parking zone in the village center.
Red button
The BOAs are also the ears and eyes of the police. With the radios, the men and women have a direct line with the police and the nine other BOAs in the municipalities of Harden berg and Omen.
The brightly colored red button on the radio of the police is still the only grip in emergency situations. The BOAs do not wear safety vests like the police officers and do not have stab stabbing vests or pepper spray or handcuffs as some colleagues in the big cities have.
Complaints
Something similar does not seem necessary on this late summer afternoon. Life apparently continues in Descartes. Women cycle with the panniers full of groceries and on a vacant terrace a couple settles down and orders a coffee. But how different is that sometimes in the evening hours and during the weekend. There are many complaints about hard riders through the shopping street, hanging youth at the coffee shop or elsewhere in the village.
The village is also recovering from the stabbing at the beginning of August, which became a 34-year-old resident fatal. The BOAs were not involved in the assistance. Such reports go directly to the police, ” Henk says. He judges that the stabbing is an exceptional situation for Descartes; a preliminary low in a lingering neighbor’s quarrel.
Shout
The BOAs are trained to keep a distance in some situations. It is better to signal the police. Yet it sometimes happens to you that you end up in an unsafe situation, says Ramrodding Mamet while he walks past the local coffee shop. His colleague stops and points to the parking place in front of the shop. I was here at the door of the coffee shop to hand out a ticket and then suddenly someone came out screaming loudly. ” More people stood by, which made him press the alarm button for assistance from the police. That was quickly on the spot.
That is how Ramrodding also has an example. Like the one time, he was attacked by fighting dogs after he had pointed out to their owner that the dogs were not allowed to defecate on the sidewalk. “Two citizens who tried to help me are also bitten. I was covered in blood and quickly brought in the police. “They are exceptions, both men say. In the roughly eight years that they work for Supervision and Enforcement, each of them may have pressed the emergency button twice.
Big cities
The men walk back for a cup of coffee in DE Baron. Error parkers are not there this afternoon. Are stab stabbing vests not what ‘too much’ for a municipality like Harden berg and Omen? The opinions within Monitoring and Enforcement are divided on this. Henk stirs something in his coffee. “We feel safe, but what is in the big cities can also come here. There are times when you would want to wear such a cardigan. For example, at events where many people are on the go, or at youth checks in the evening in the village. I sometimes now borrow a security vest from the police, for example during a check in a party tent. There I appear as a citizen and I put the vest under my coat. If I were to come in my work outfit, they would all dive at me. Not everyone is popular, I will say. ”
Reverse
There is also a downside to wearing a stab proof vest, says Henk. It can deter the citizen from approaching the BOAs on the street. And that would be a shame because we are there for the citizen. That is why I am in favor of wearing the vests only in exceptional cases. ”
Colleague Ramrodding thinks otherwise. He would always want to wear the safety vests with reflective fabric during the day and in the evening. It is about your own safety. Do you never know it? ” The last word has not yet been said about it, he laughs. Supervision and Enforcement have consultations on the wearing of the stab proof vests on 13 September.