The number of armed robberies in the Netherlands has risen 46% so far this year, when compared with the same period in 2025, according to police figures quoted by the Telegraaf.

Some 218 armed robberies have taken place in the first three months of the year, compared to 149 during the same period in 2024. It is the first time since 2010 that the number of armed robberies has gone up.

So far this year the police have arrested 182 armed robbery suspects, many of whom were teenagers, including 12 and 13-year-olds. Jewellery shops in particular have been targeted.

“We are very worried about this development. We do not know why the trend has suddenly reversed,” police spokesman Jos van der Stap told the Telegraaf.

Most of the robbers are young, violent, and in some cases use guns.  In most cases, police can make a quick arrest and almost half of the armed robberies are solved.

Patrick Thio of the Gold and Silver federation said the rise in armed robberies is “worrying and incomprehensible”. “It is incredibly traumatising for shop workers. Why are they doing it anyway? There is a big chance they will get caught, and they seldom get away with the goods,” he said.