On 1 January 2005, a new law went into force in the Netherlands obliging everybody above the age of 14 to always show ID when asked. Dutch police has immediately started to use the new power by fining dozens of citizens for not being able to present a valid passport, drivers license or ID card. Most citizens were given double fines, for example for riding on a bicycle without proper illlumination, or hanging out in groups and thus presenting a possible threat to the 'public order'. In the city of Rotterdam alone, 20 fines were issued within the first 24 hours of the new obligation. Two of the first fines that became public have raised serious concerns about the actual intentions of the police with their new power.

A young man attended the new-year's reception of the municipality of Nijmegen, and held up a banner protesting against the policy to evict asylum seekers. He was arrested and asked to show ID. When he refused to do so, the police took him to the local police station and held him for several hours. In the end he was sent home without a fine, but his right to demonstrate was undermined completely.

A second incident was covered in the eight o' clock national TV news on 8 January 2005. A 14-year old girl in the municipality of Wijk en Aalburg was arrested in the very early hours of 1 January 2005 for not being able to show ID, together with 20 other kids. She spent 5 and a half hours in a police cell, without any indication of any possible misdemeanour other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Before 1 January 2005 a large majority of Dutch people supported the new law, in support for any measure that could help increase security. After 1 January, many people start to realise they have to bear the costs themselves, starting at 30 euro for an ID card, but amounting up to 100 euro in case of losing a card or passport. The owner of the website 'gelijkoversteken' (hand over simultaneously), calls on all citizens to demand to see the ID of any supervisor or police officer in return for showing theirs. He reports numerous incidents of coloured people being asked for their ID without any other apparent reason than the colour of their skin.

The Council of State, the highest legal advisory body in the Netherlands, strongly criticised the proposed law for the lack of any substantive evidence that it would help in the battle against terrorism. This criticism was bluntly ignored by Cabinet and Parliament. In a bold new year's speech the mayor of Wageningen, Mr Pechtold, spoke out against the new law and called it an example of The Hague idiocy to lure the general public into a false sense of security.

NOS news item (in Dutch, 08.01.2005)
http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/nos/nieuws/2005/januari/video/07...

Website Gelijk Oversteken (in Dutch)
http://www.gelijkoversteken.org