The Enforcement and Supervision Centre, or HTL for short, is located in Hoogeveen.
It houses asylum seekers who have previously caused a serious nuisance in a regular asylum seekers’ centre, or azc.
This might involve the destruction of property, aggression, bullying or breaking house rules.
The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) responds to this with a punitive measure.
Asylum seekers who cause serious problems are transferred to the HTL for a maximum of three months.
They are also subjected to an area order.
This limits their freedom of movement drastically.
Transferring troublemakers to the HTL shows that we do not tolerate antisocial behaviour.
This leads to improved security and quality of life in and around asylum seekers’ centres.
Troublemakers who are sent to the HTL are not locked up,
but their movements are restricted.
The HTL is a gated community.
Inside the HTL, the COA works with the DJI, the Custodial Institutions Agency.
DJI staff ensure that HTL residents comply with the stipulations in their area orders.
Area orders reduce antisocial behaviour outside the HTL to the bare minimum.
The house rules inside the HTL are stricter than in a regular azc.
The asylum seekers attend an intensive, compulsory day programme, including behavioural training.
They are also given conditions for their asylum or return process.
Thanks to the HTL, regular azcs and surrounding areas are safer and more secure:
for our staff…
for the majority of asylum seekers who do not cause trouble…
and for those who live near azcs.
To sum up, the Netherlands does not tolerate antisocial behaviour by asylum seekers.
Troublemakers are dealt with severely.