Public violence (openlijke geweldpleging) is the open and joint commission of violence against persons or property. For criminal liability, your own contribution must be of sufficient weight. Are you suspected of public violence? Keep the complete documents and write down the next deadline. Below you can read which legal questions, documents and next steps require attention. The assessment of your own situation depends on the specific facts and the applicable legal framework.
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What does public violence mean in legal terms?
Public violence is the open and joint commission of violence against persons or property. For criminal liability, your own contribution must be of sufficient weight.
The legal starting point is Article 141 of the Dutch Criminal Code. The precise wording of the charge matters, because one everyday description can cover several statutory variants. Your lawyer therefore compares the wording of the suspicion with the case file and checks whether each element can be supported by lawful and convincing evidence.
Merely being present at a fight does not automatically make someone a co-perpetrator. Encouraging others, surrounding someone, forming a numerical majority or other supporting conduct can, however, become significant.
What does the Public Prosecution Service have to prove?
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) must provide evidence of the public context, the joint conduct, the specific acts of violence and the significance of your own contribution. A suspicion can be enough to start an investigation, but a conviction requires lawful and convincing evidence of the entire charge.
The defence examines, for each item of evidence, what it actually shows. An official police report may contain an observation, a summary of a statement or a conclusion drawn by an officer. Those parts do not automatically carry the same evidential weight. It must also be examined whether exculpatory context is missing.
Where several people are involved, the individual role of each suspect must be established. Contact with a co-suspect, presence at a location or a payment may be relevant, but does not replace an analysis of intent, knowledge and contribution.
What rights do you have during a police interview?
As a suspect, you have the right to remain silent and the right to consult a lawyer. If you are invited for an interview without being arrested, ask in advance in what capacity you will be heard and which offence the suspicion concerns. The police do not always provide the full case file straight away.
Remaining silent is not an automatic strategy for every case. Sometimes an early, verifiable explanation can prevent an incorrect picture from persisting. In other cases, an unprepared statement actually creates risks. Make that choice after discussing the known facts, possible lines of investigation and documents that may support your explanation.
Read the official record of the interview carefully. Ask for a correction if your words have been recorded incorrectly or too categorically. Do not sign in haste. If you have difficulty with the Dutch language, raise the use of a sworn interpreter in good time.
Which evidence should you secure?
In any event, keep complete camera footage, witnesses, location data, descriptions of clothing, injury details and communications from before and after the incident. Keep the original files available and make a working copy for your lawyer. Screenshots can be useful, but often do not show the whole conversation, its origin or the metadata.
Draw up a timeline with dates, people and events. Separate what you observed yourself from what others told you. Note possible witnesses with a brief explanation of what they themselves observed. Do not approach them to align statements.
Do not delete or alter any data. Information that seems unfavourable at first sight may also be needed to understand the context. Report possible camera footage or other sources that are only available for a limited time quickly, so that your lawyer can assess whether securing that material or further investigation is needed.
Making your own role within a group visible
In an incident involving several people, an official report may refer to “the group”, while the participants did not all do the same thing. For the defence, it is important to reconstruct your own actions moment by moment. Where were you standing before the violence began? When did the situation change? Which movement or remark is attributed to you? The answers must match the available footage and statements.
Merely being present is not automatically sufficient for liability for public violence. However, a contribution does not itself have to be a punch or a kick to be significant under criminal law. Supporting conduct can be relevant in connection with the violence. A general explanation such as “I did not hit anyone” therefore sometimes leaves an important part of the accusation unanswered.
Also note moments at which you deliberately kept your distance, tried to pull someone away or arrived later. Indicate whether this is visible on footage or was observed by a witness. Do not present your own intention as a proven observation by others. The question of what you wanted to achieve and the question of how your conduct was actually visible may differ.
Camera footage calls for the complete sequence
A short video may start in the middle of an incident. The cause, an earlier attack or acts outside the frame may then be missing. Ask your lawyer to assess which additional footage is needed. Identify the likely camera, the time window and why the missing footage could clarify something. Simply saying “there were cameras everywhere” is less useful than a specific location and time.
Keep a file you received in its original form. A forwarded social media video may have been cut, slowed down or overlaid with commentary. That does not make the file worthless, but it does make it different from the original recording. Write down separately which people you recognise and what that recognition is based on. Do not let an assumption about clothing quietly turn into certainty about identity.
The sequence of different camera angles also requires attention. Clocks may differ and a person may disappear behind an obstacle for part of the time. Do not make a self-edited video showing only favourable moments as a substitute for the originals. An overview for your lawyer may help to find relevant moments quickly, as long as it remains clear what is a selection and what is source material.
Public violence, assault and co-perpetration
The words used to describe an incident in everyday language do not determine which legal classification applies. A summons may list different charges alongside or in the alternative to one another. Read carefully which conduct, period and form of involvement are mentioned. A defence against assault does not automatically answer all the questions surrounding public violence.
In public violence, the public nature, the joint conduct and your own contribution are central. Other forms of participation may involve different requirements and emphases. Your lawyer can explain, element by element, which evidence is being used. Ask for that separation if the case file involves many participants, different victims or several incidents.
In addition, check which injury or damage is linked to which event. An accusation may mention more serious consequences than the footage appears to show at first sight. That calls for an examination of the link between the proven conduct and the injury. The seriousness of the consequences deserves attention, but does not remove the need for careful analysis of the evidence.
Self-defence and ending an incident
Anyone who says they were defending someone should discuss the specific situation with their lawyer. Which attack took place, against whom, at what moment and what reaction followed? A plea of self-defence (noodweer) or excessive self-defence (noodweerexces) requires its own legal assessment. The mere fact that the other person started it does not provide unlimited justification for any later violence.
Keep records of your own injuries and any medical treatment. Note when photographs were taken and what complaints existed at that time. Do not gather other people’s medical information through unlawful means. Tell your lawyer which witnesses could see the cause themselves and who only heard something later. These differences help with a targeted request for investigation.
After the incident, do not try to agree on a shared story in a group chat. Existing messages may be important evidence, even if they are clumsily worded. Keep them and discuss their context. Comply with any contact conditions and let your lawyer assess how necessary information can be obtained from those involved without undermining the reliability of statements.
Keeping identification and the sequence of events apart
In a busy group, a description of clothing is repeated more easily than an accurate description of someone’s actions. Therefore distinguish between the question of who appears on the footage and the question of what that person is doing. An identification is not automatically proof of every act that took place in the group shortly before or after.
Put the available footage in chronological order and indicate where there are gaps. Keep the original files. A short compilation can provide an overview for a meeting, but must always be traceable to the complete material. Show which position you had, how it changed and which parts remain out of frame. Do not fill a missing image with a categorical conclusion about what could not possibly have happened.
Where there are injuries, it must also be examined which violence and which consequences are attributed to which of those involved. That examination can be more complicated than the question of who threw the first punch. Your lawyer can assess how the charge, the form of participation and a compensation claim relate to one another. Keep medical information and evidence about the event carefully separate and do not share more personal data than necessary.
For a separate accusation of hitting or kicking, the explanation of self-defence and excessive self-defence may be relevant if self-defence plays a role. If there are people who saw your actions themselves, discuss a targeted request to hear witnesses. Let those people keep their own recollection; a joint reconstruction with co-suspects can actually raise new questions of reliability.
What steps can you take now?
Work in a fixed order, so that deadlines and evidence are not lost.
1. Keep the letter, summons or punishment order and note every date. 2. Request the case file or the available details of the suspicion through your lawyer. 3. Collect original data and draw up a factual timeline. 4. Discuss your position in the proceedings before the interview. 5. After each decision, check the correct legal remedy and the time limit. 6. Coordinate parallel procedures with your employer, bank, municipality or CBR (the Dutch driving test and fitness to drive authority).
A request to contact a lawyer does not in itself protect any time limit. For a punishment order, judgment or measure, a short statutory time limit may apply. Therefore send the complete decision and state when you received it.
Contact us for an assessment of the next step.
What outcomes are possible?
An investigation may end in a dismissal (the Public Prosecution Service drops the case), a punishment order, a summons or another decision by the OM. Before the court, possible outcomes include acquittal, discharge from further prosecution and conviction. Which route fits depends on the evidence, the legal classification and the circumstances.
A statutory maximum penalty does not predict the actual sentence. The court considers the proven offence, its seriousness, the consequences, personal circumstances and relevant criminal records. Compensation, seizure, a contact condition or a measure may also be at issue.
Do not automatically accept or pay a punishment order if you want to challenge the finding of guilt. Have the consequences and the time limit for lodging an objection checked immediately. Even a relatively limited disposal can have significance for your judicial record and a later assessment for a certificate of conduct (VOG).
Which mistakes are often made?
Many suspects try to explain everything straight away by telephone without knowing the case file. A second mistake is deleting relevant messages out of shame or fear. Contacting a complainant or witness yourself can also be misinterpreted or breach a prohibition.
Other risks are: keeping only a few screenshots, waiting out a deadline because the letter is unclear, treating a punishment order as an ordinary fine and withholding information from your own lawyer. A defence becomes stronger with complete, verifiable information.
Do not publish a detailed response on social media. A public defence rarely takes into account the rules of evidence, privacy and the as yet unknown contents of the case file. Discuss consequences for your reputation or work through a separate, coordinated route.
How does Arslan Advocaten handle this type of case?
Arslan Advocaten handles criminal cases from the interview stage through to the hearing and any legal remedy. The lawyer starts with the procedural documents, time limits and the next decision point. After that, the evidence, the legal classification and the personal consequences are assessed separately.
In practice, problems often arise because a client has several procedures running at the same time. Think of a blocked bank account, a dismissal issue, a closure decision or a VOG problem alongside the criminal case. We first map out those lines, so that a response in one case does not unintentionally harm your position in another.
Frequently asked questions about public violence
Can I be prosecuted if I did not hit anyone myself?
Yes, that is possible. A sufficiently significant contribution to the joint violence can also consist of other conduct. Mere presence, on the other hand, is not automatically enough. Your actions and their significance for the incident must be examined specifically.
Is staying with the group sufficient evidence?
Not without a closer assessment of the circumstances. The court looks at your own contribution and the joint conduct. Your position, behaviour and remarks may be relevant. Therefore record accurately when you arrived, what you did and when you left.
Does a video in which I am not visible help?
It can, but its significance depends on the range and duration of the recording. Being out of frame does not in itself prove absence. Conversely, a complete sequence can contradict a mistaken identification. Keep original files and identify missing time periods.
May I ask witnesses what they saw?
Discuss the approach with your lawyer first, especially where there are co-suspects or contact conditions. Statements must not be aligned or influenced. Note who may have made their own observation and why it is relevant, so that an appropriate request to hear witnesses can be prepared.
Is defending a friend automatically self-defence?
No. The attack, and the necessity and proportionality of the defence, must be assessed. What happened beforehand and when the danger ended are important questions. Discuss the facts and evidence in full; a general plea of protecting a friend is not enough.
Do I have to pay for all the damage caused by the group?
That cannot be inferred from the label of the suspicion. The basis of the compensation claim, your involvement, the link with the damage and any group liability require separate assessment. Therefore, in addition to the evidence, also check all the annexes to the claim.
Having your case assessed
Have you received an invitation for an interview, a punishment order or a summons? You can request an assessment via the contact form. State the next date and only share sensitive documents via the agreed secure route.
When is a quick legal assessment advisable?
In a public violence case, the next step must be tailored to the specific procedure. Have the available documents, the time limit and the purpose of a response assessed together. A lawyer can check which information is missing, whether further investigation is needed and which authority decides on your matter. This makes clear what you can collect yourself and which formal step must be taken in time.
Prompt assistance is particularly advisable when an interview, punishment order, summons, seizure or measure has already been announced. Note the date of receipt, keep envelopes and digital messages and send the complete decision. Also discuss the consequences for work, a licence, residence, insurance, your banking relationship or a VOG. Those side effects sometimes require a separate response with its own time limit. A specific assessment always depends on the case file; general information is no substitute for personal legal advice.
Sources
- Dutch Criminal Code
- Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure
- The judiciary on criminal law
- Supreme Court of the Netherlands, overview of case law on individual contribution
- Public Prosecution Service, guideline on public violence
Editorial team and responsible lawyer
Editorial team: Arslan Advocaten. Responsible lawyer for criminal law: Melanie Schulpen.
Last editorially updated: 22 September 2026. This general information is no substitute for an assessment of your own case file.
