License for landlords
Car rental and crime sometimes appear to be closely intertwined. Rental cars can provide anonymous transport for criminals and landlords sometimes cooperate willingly. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema wants to put an end to this.
Halsema (GroenLinks) wants to keep criminals out of car rental by introducing a permit requirement. According to her, there are signs of ‘mala fide activity’ in the industry, she writes in a letter to the city council. The industry is seen as vulnerable to undermining, including through the acceptance of cash payments.
The companies play an important role in organized crime, it can be read, because the cars are used by serious criminals to commit crimes. Furthermore, the car rental industry forms an ‘important link’ between the underworld and the upper world, says Halsema. The cars offer anonymity and cannot be taken personally. According to Halsema, the police have established that since 2011 rental companies have been added that seem to have been set up specifically for and by criminals.
Earlier, the Amsterdam police already started a collaboration with the industry. A large part of the rental companies participate in this. But there are still companies that do not participate and are therefore an easy target, writes Halsema. According to Halsema, a mayor may require branches or buildings to require a permit in the interest of public order, the living environment or the prevention of undermining.
Link license plate to tenant
Last summer, The Hague also came up with a plan to suppress the criminal use of rental cars. The cabinet is considering mandatory registration of tenants in the vehicle registration register. The anonymity cited by Halsema should therefore disappear if the renter is linked to the license plate of the rental car. This is a kind of temporary ‘additional ascription’.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl