Young researchers vlog: Michel Vols on housing-related drug crimes

Four members of the Young Academy Groningen of the University of Groningen have created vlogs together with regional newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden. In these videos, they discuss their research and its social relevance in a comprehensible and entertaining manner. In the latest vlog in this weekly series, Michel Vols discusses housing-related drug crimes.

Michel Vols

Michel Vols is Deputy Professor of Public Order Law and one of the initiators of the Domestic Nuisance Act (Dutch: Wet Aanpak Woonoverlast), which entered into force this month. This Act gives mayors the authority to impose mandatory measures on those causing nuisance. Vols’s research is continuing even if the Act is finished. It is precisely the observation of what happens once a law enters into force that he considers one of the most fascinating aspects of his work For this reason, he will be monitoring whether and how the Domestic Nuisance Act is being implemented in the coming period. ‘As an academic, I am on the edge of my seat to see if it works’, Vols told the University of Groningen. One of the types of nuisance that Vols focuses on is drug-related nuisance in and around homes. In his vlog Vols elaborates on the legal aspects of drug-related crime.

Young Academy Groningen

Vols is one of the four members of the Young Academy Groningen (YAG) who have created a vlog. Young Academy Groningen is a group of young talented academics from the University of Groningen. Its members come from a variety of disciplines, and the aim is to stimulate interdisciplinary research. In addition, they want to enthuse and inform a broad audience about science. The website of regional newspaper Dagblad van het Noorden showed one vlog a week over the past month. Previous vlog contributors were Merel Keijzer, Diederik Roest and Dorina Buda.

More information

• Profile page
• A new law against ‘neighbours from hell’
• Young Academy Groningen