apperently crime pays!

[Wintermoot]

its no secret that the dutch legal system is pretty soft (punish the victims and protect the criminals)
here is another prime example, some guy stole a bike and when he got caught he refused to return it to the shop, apparently this means the police cant confiscate it
source:http://www.telegraaf.nl/binnenland/9194428/__Dief_weigert_gestolen_motor_af_te_staan__.html?sn=binnenland
so what are the escapist, thought,s about this?
PS:http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraaf.nl%2Fbinnenland%2F9194428%2F__Dief_weigert_gestolen_motor_af_te_staan__.html%3Fsn%3Dbinnenland translated link

Edit: I just watched the video of the interview. The reporting on this story is absolutely fucking ridiculous. First of all, the text says that the store owner tried to stop the thief, but that he gestured for him to get out of the way before racing off, but in the interview the store owner says that he was waiting for the sound of the bike to come by the store again (he was driving up and down on a patch on the side of the store) but it didn't come. But even more importantly the motorcycle is now in the police station. The thief did not get to keep it at all. It is now probably just being held as evidence or something. The owner is going to fill out the right paperwork and will then very likely get it back.

 

[Wintermoot]

Im thinking does that work for TVs.

think so! you just have to refuse returning the stolen stuff
(I,m thinking about knicking a new computer and some televisions)

 

[KeyMaster45]

I don't suppose you could put up a link to the article in English could you? Kinda hard to discuss it based on what little information you've provided.

 

[Wintermoot]

I don't suppose you could put up a link to the article in English could you? Kinda hard to discuss it based on what little information you've provided.

done

 

[tomtom94]

I'm thinking Google Translate still has a few bugs, but I get the gist.

OT: I'm also thinking I bet it's possible to find a case of similar happening in England. Justice systems the world over are broken, though at least here it's not to the extent of, say, Italy, or thinking further afield, Nigeria...

 

[Verlander]

I say it to nearly every topic on this site with similar content: Take ALL news stories with a huge pinch of salt. It's very likely there are some key facts omitted from the report. It's extremely unlikely that the police weren't able to confiscate stolen material. Maybe it's because the police need a warrant that they didn't have at the time? I know nothing really about Dutch law, but most countries have a system of this. Sure, it's not an ideal situation, but would you rather have a police force who could seize anyone's property, and not be answerable for it? I mean, they could just claim that they thought it was stolen, regardless of whether it was or not.

For the inevitable responses to this thread of "political correctness gone mad", or whatever the intellectually challenged are bandying around these days, let me just point out that the traditional approach to being "tough on crime" doesn't work. Look at the states in the USA that impose corporal or capital punishment. The criminal systems DO need an overhaul, but not in the way that most people, and therefore, most politicians think. Crime prevention should be our goal, not punishment and fearmongering. Money should be invested in rehabilitation, and early warning, namely through psychologists and criminologists. After all, if our increased intelligence is what separates us from animals, surely we should actually use it.

 

[emeraldrafael]

I'm really hoping there is ALOT more to this story. Otherwise... hehe, the European system of punishment is funny. Between this and the psychotic killer that got a leave of absence from Prison to get a hair cut, I'd rather take the "awfully thought out and practiced" American system I hear my fellow foreign students at the college I go to complain about.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

Does it work for police cars? Because it would be hilarious to hop in and drive one away and they had no legal right to take it back.

I mean, no that would be wrong and bad and irresponsible.

*cough*

GTA IV MADE ME DO IT!

 

[Jordi]

I am from the Netherlands, but I'm also not intimately familiar with every law we have. However, I would like to point out that the newspaper reporting this issue is not generally regarded as the most reputable one (although it has the most subscribers) and is often accused of being sensationalist and sloppy. This article is a good example of that, because there is no sign that the police were contacted to comment on this story.

I can see why this situation appears a bit weird, but I'm fairly sure that the police can probably shed some light on this. My guess is that the "problem" is that people here are generally considered innocent until proven guilty in front of a judge. So who is the owner of the motorcycle has to be determined in court and until that time there is apparently nothing the police can do. The police can't just confiscate something because they believe it belongs to someone else. It is the court's job to make such judgments.
I still think it's a little weird though, and I would think that until the judge decides, the property should probably go to whoever is holding the ownership papers, but like I said, I don't know the ins and outs of Dutch law, and I'm also not convinced that this is not what will happen since the story is very incomplete.

As for what I think about this whole situation: obviously it sucks to be a victim of a crime. In this case it is fairly obvious that the store owner should get his stuff back. The problem is that this is likely very hard to put into a law. You can't just say "if the crime seems obvious to the cop, he can just go right ahead and start some procedures on his own without waiting for an official ruling", because who's to say what is obvious enough? I very much like that we have a very strong protection against being falsely accused of a crime here.

Edit: I just watched the video of the interview. The reporting on this story is absolutely fucking ridiculous. First of all, the text says that the store owner tried to stop the thief, but that he gestured for him to get out of the way before racing off, but in the interview the store owner says that he was waiting for the sound of the bike to come by the store again (he was driving up and down on a patch on the side of the store) but it didn't come. But even more importantly the motorcycle is now in the police station. The thief did not get to keep it at all. It is now probably just being held as evidence or something. The owner is going to fill out the right paperwork and will then very likely get it back.