# Military police to patrol Ter Apel from Monday

> The municipality of Westerwolde asked for help with incidents involving low-prospect asylum seekers in the village, including on average twenty shoplifting incidents a week in the centre.

Migration · published 2026-11-07 08:14 · https://nlnow.nl/a/military-police-to-patrol-ter-apel-from-monday-over-nuisance-6648/

The Koninklijke Marechaussee, the Dutch military police, will patrol Ter Apel from Monday to support the police. Mayor Jaap Velema of Westerwolde, the municipality that includes Ter Apel, announced the deployment last month.

The municipality asked for the support because of the large number of incidents involving asylum seekers with little chance of being granted asylum, known as veiligelanders. There are on average 20 shoplifting incidents a week in the centre of Ter Apel.

Velema says incidents, such as stabbings, also happen regularly on the site of the asylum reception agency COA. The mayor wants the number of asylum seekers in this group cut sharply.

The mayor also says young people in the centre drink alcohol and cause a nuisance.

## Asylum applications nationwide

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) counted 2,100 first asylum applications in the Netherlands in September, against 2,700 in September 2025 and 1,845 in August 2026.

Since January, monthly first applications have ranged from 1,810 in June to 2,145 in May, CBS figures show.

The September 2025 count of 2,700 is the highest monthly figure between September 2025 and September 2026, CBS figures show.

**First asylum applications are lower than a year ago** (people; source: CBS)

- Sep 2025: 2700
- Oct 2025: 2470
- Nov 2025: 2485
- Dec 2025: 2570
- Jan 2026: 2070
- Feb 2026: 1960
- Mar 2026: 1965
- Apr 2026: 2105
- May 2026: 2145
- Jun 2026: 1810
- Jul 2026: 1920
- Aug 2026: 1845
- Sep 2026: 2100

## Background

- **COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang asielzoekers)**: The independent government body that houses and looks after asylum seekers while their applications are processed. It runs reception centres across the country and falls under the minister responsible for asylum and migration.
- **Koninklijke Marechaussee**: The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is the Dutch military police, a branch of the armed forces that also carries out civilian police tasks. It performs border control, including at Schiphol airport, and can support the regular police in the Netherlands when extra capacity is needed.
- **veiligelanders**: Veiligelanders is an informal Dutch term for asylum seekers from countries that the Netherlands regards as safe, whose asylum applications are therefore unlikely to be granted. The term is used in everyday and policy discussion about asylum seekers who have little prospect of receiving a residence permit.

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