' On Rembrandt square, the law of the jungle '

A group of male tourists comes slurring Club Smokey on Rembrandt square. Thumping bass sound like the floodgates of the café open.

Tarzan it's Monday night half three. Only a few tourists wandering around drunk, but according to surrounding and President of neighborhood platform the night watch Isabelle Blekxtoon also non-regular entertainment nights as this much nuisance. "One of those tourists apparently thinks that he is Tarzan, and you see that the rest without saying life in drunken bar the jeers. I sit up in bed almost every night once. "

The municipality began in July with a three-year trial to violence and disturbance on and around the Rembrandtplein in the weekend nights. Doormen follow courses in the prevention of violence, on the square run ' horecahosts ' that party-goers the way for breaches, and friendly appeal to the streets and bicycle paths are closed to traffic and there is an alcohol ban. In return, the clubs over the weekend to eight hours should remain open, but there are no use of this possibility have made things.

Atmosphere the figures of the first half-year there are now: the number of violent incidents is 16 per cent lower, the number of pollution incidents 22 percent. Bailey: "We notice a minor improvement, but there is absolutely no reason for optimism."

Also the municipality still dares not to draw conclusions. "We are pleased with the numbers, but it's wait and see if this development continues," says a spokesman for Mayor Eberhard van der Laan. "We don't yet know for sure whether the decline in the number of incidents is because of the measures we have taken."

About the end goal be municipality and the night watch pretty on one line: by the better atmosphere and clearer rules should start behaving themselves better from the entertainment public. "Especially tourists make unabashedly herrie and think in Amsterdam everything is possible," says Bailey, while a snorder her an illegal taxi ride.

Three young people are loud talking the halvemaansteeg in. They are not misbehaving, but Bailey says that this nuisance. "In such a narrow alley bounces off that sound huge." And that impairs sleep even if you are used to a lot of sound, a hard sleeper is enoordopjes indoet, said Bailey.

The night watch on weekend nights more than the current five enforcement officers on the square. "But we find it much more important that there also fixed enforcement during the week," says Bailey. Now is at most a fine handed out by a from agent at excesses, she says. "Without enforcement, the law of the jungle applies here."

Read the whole article at: http://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/-on-rembrandt square-is-the-law-of-the-jungle ~ a4263549/

source: http://www.parool.nl/ By: PIM BALU Photo: Maarten Brante