People living in The Hague are handed out more fines for anti-social behaviour than in any other part of the Netherlands, according to research by RTL news.

Between 2007 and 2011, The Hague residents received the equivalent of 1,049 fines for every 10,000 locals. Rotterdammers were second on the list with 865 fines per 10,000 people, just ahead of Amsterdam with 856.

RTL combined police figures on fines for littering, not cleaning up dog mess and other bugbears with information from the national debt register to draw up the rankings.

Big earner

Between 2007 and 2011, police and council officials handed out some 686,000 fines for anti-social behaviour, generating €78m for the treasury. Top of the list of ‘crimes’ was parking in an invalid space. Overtaking on the right was second in the ranking, followed by peeing in public.

The research also showed wide variations between different towns. People from Almere, for example, are most likely to be fined for traffic offences while in Amsterdam, urinating in public tops the list. And the small town of Haaksbergen near Enschede heads the league for not clearing up dog mess.

RTL points out that the differences are probably accounted for by local policies and the number of officials charged with cracking down on nuisance behaviour.

For example, the Hague has relatively few city wardens but a zero tolerance approach, the broadcaster said.

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