After years of declining numbers, armed robberies were up 50% in the first seven months of this year, and delivery drivers were the main target, the AD reports.

During that period, a total of 88 delivery drivers were robbed, taking the total number of armed robberies to 649, 100 up from the same period last year.

‘The trend seems to be holding and that is before the winter period,’ police spokesman Jos van der Stap told the paper. Traditionally the number of robberies increase when darkness falls earlier and the weather is worse, making it easier for robbers to act and make their escape. Many are never caught because it is difficult to retrieve evidence from the street, Van der Stap said.

The centre for crime prevention and safety CCV said a cheap and effective remedy would be to ban all cash transactions for food delivery drivers, but that many restaurants are afraid this would alienate customers.

Some pizza chains, such as Domino’s and New York Pizza, and delivery service Thuisbezorgd, are experimenting with cashless transactions.

Bodycams are another way of deterring robbers and in Rotterdam a subsidised experiment showed that the number of robberies dropped significantly if workers were wired up. However, not every restaurant is prepared to invest in the relatively expensive equipment, the paper said.

Supermarkets are also increasingly the target of armed robbers and 69 were targeted in the first seven months of this year.

Supermarkets in Eindhoven and Nijmegen were particular targets. ‘Gangs often commit multiple robberies and they continue until they are caught. You can tell when they are from the figures,’ Van der Stap said.