to arrest [verb] [arresteerde, gearresteerd]
Although Samuel L. Jackson joked in "Pulp Fiction" that police offers in Amsterdam are not allowed to search you, they are definitely allowed to arrest you so be aware of that! 🙂 Actually, it is a bit more sophisticated than Samuel stated and there is a chance that you are searched by police without being a suspect, as a preventive measure. Traditionally the Dutch police have been quite tolerant but it seems this has changed recently with more police on the streets and the law actually being enforced. You will most likely notice this when riding your bike: no bike lights and biking through red lights is no longer tolerated!
In general the law has become a bit stricter in recent years, one of the biggest changes being the fact that one has to be able to show ID at all times. This led to protest by left-wing parties who argue that this will not lead to a decrease in crime and is in fact a violation of privacy.
Examples:
– "Agent, arresteer deze man!"
("Officer, arrest this man!")
– "Na een felle strijd heeft de politie 10 krakers gearresteerd."
("After a heavy battle, the police have arrested 10 squatters.")
– "Na een lange zoektocht heeft de politie de daders kunnen arresteren."
("After a long search, the police have been able to arrest the offenders.")
Related words:
– "Inrekenen": less common synonym for "arresteren".
– "Agent/e": police officer.
– "Arrestatie": arrest [noun].
– "Burgerarrest": citizen’s arrest. "Burger" translates to "citizen" (and to "burger" when you are at McDonald’s 🙂 ).
– "Straf": punishment, sentence.