FINDINGS: POLICE OFFICERS ON COFFEE SHOPS
At first glance, the perspective of the police officers on their duties, the cof-
fee shops and the persons who work there, is characterized by a sober prag-
matism, which seems to fit Becker’s definition of the rule enforcer. They
also said that they were just doing their job and that everything was under
control, implying that they did not need to do much enforcement. They did
not voice the rhetoric which is part of the criminalization of cannabis. They
said that if the new laws (to register clients and keep non-Dutch citizens
out) would come into effect, they would enforce them, but they emphasized
that, based on their practice, the new laws were not necessary. They also
communicated that the new laws might actually cause disorder and would
probably result in more work for the police force, which was not to their
liking.
The interview data also revealed that a crucial period in the creation of
the officers’ perspective on coffee shops was the year 2009, in which 16 cof-
fee shops were closed because they were within a range of 250 m of a
school. The rule was created, as discussed earlier, with the intention of
preventing young people from being attracted to coffee shops. This rule is
seen by critics as merely symbolic because students and pupils are still
confronted with many coffee shops when travelling through the city.
According to those with a critical stance towards Rotterdam’s cannabis
policy, the aim of the implementation of the rule is to find legal means to
combat coffee shops and frustrate their owners.
The then mayor of Rotterdam, Ivo Opstelten, who is the current
Minister of Safety and Justice, was the only mayor who actually implemen-
ted this rule by closing coffee shops. As Minister of Safety and Justice,
his actions against cannabis retailers seem to have taken on the character
of a crusade as he has proposed a wide range of new laws against coffee
shops.
All of the police officers that I interviewed stated that in 2009 they had
questioned the efficacy of the implementation of the ‘distance criterion’
because more than 40 coffee shops were to remain in Rotterdam and teen-
agers would still be confronted with coffee shops on a daily basis, for
instance while going to and from school. But they were also worried about
the effects of the closure of 16 coffee shops on the public order of the city.
Where would all the clients go? The expectation was that the closure of 16
coffee shops would result in a situation in which more clients would visit
the neighbourhoods where the coffee shops would remain open. One coffee
shop owner, whose business was located near three coffee shops that were
148 THADDEUS MU ̈LLER