The Netherlands, explained in English · Wednesday 28 October 2026Wed 28 Oct

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The Netherlands, explained

verblijfsontzeggingsgebied

A ban zone is an area that a Dutch mayor designates because of persistent, structural public nuisance, where the police can immediately bar people who disturb public order from staying there. Municipalities such as Utrecht use these zones for locations like station areas and busy parks or city-centre streets. The designation is time-limited, so a municipality must extend it when it still wants the ban to apply.

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