The next phase of the digital mandatory notification pilot is about to start. Starting in early April, the municipalities of Leeuwarden, Rotterdam and Utrecht will be able to use the Mini ID, a small portable box, to impose an area ban with digital reporting obligation on nuisance soccer fans. Persons subject to an area ban with digital reporting obligation must report with their fingerprint via the Mini ID at certain times during certain matches. This way, it is shown whether someone is inside or outside the prohibited area and whether the reporting obligation is fulfilled.
Minister Van Weel:
"The Mini ID can make it easier to keep rioters with an area ban out of the prohibited area. If the reporting party does find himself in the prohibited area at the time when he or she should not be there, there is a violation and this can lead to prosecution by the public prosecutor. The digital obligation to report helps to prevent nuisances from disrupting public order again. I hope for a successful next phase of the pilot so we can roll this out more widely as soon as possible."
Nuisance soccer fans can receive an area ban if they misbehave around soccer matches. A digital reporting obligation can be linked to this, in order to check whether people comply with the area ban. At the end of last year, the pilot digital mandatory reporting started in the municipalities of Rotterdam, Utrecht and Leeuwarden with test users, testing the use of a small portable box: the Mini ID. This phase of the pilot tested usability, reliability, safety and technology, as well as user privacy.
A digital obligation to report has been possible by law for some time but could not yet be imposed in practice because the technology did not yet exist. A physical obligation to report, which requires individuals to report to an agreed location at a certain time, is rarely imposed. This is considered a heavy remedy that may be disproportionate to the offense, and it strains the capacity of the police who must receive and register the reporting person on location. The digital reporting requirement removes these concerns.
