On being prepared in Europe

Crime is rising in the Netherlands as I wrote on IslaminEurope in May. And the State is losing the ability to project law and order.

As a result one may wonder how the citizens react. The citizens of The Netherlands cannot arm themselves nor form militias. But they can hire security. And they do.

Turnover of private security grows strongly

The turnover of the private security industry (Dutch) has grown in 2008 with 10.2 percent up to 1.43 billion Euros. Today 30,700 people are working in the Dutch security industry. This is shown by figures published by security industry association VPB.

Employment rose by almost 3,000 full time jobs compared to 2007. The largest part of the turnover is made in securing real estate such as offices, companies, schools and institutions. The rest is airport security (13 percent) and mobile patrolling (14 percent).

Even so the sector has felt the economic downturn. According to the VPB 44 percent of all security firms a lowering of turnover in the first quarter of 2009. 36 percent of all firms report stable figures.

It is to be expected though that the private security sector will continue to grow as the worsening economic crisis fuels rising crime rates.