Dashboard: Area Restrictions

Municipality of Amsterdam

Data analysis to provide insight into and an overview of the administrative measure known as the area ban.

Last change on 2nd of July 2026, at 15:13 (CET) | Publication Standard 1.0

• Publication category: Other algorithms
• Impact assessment: Field not filled in.
• Status: In use

General information

Theme

Public Order and Safety

Begin date

2022-07

Contact information

[e-mail]

Responsible use

Goal and impact

The ‘Area Restrictions’ dashboard provides insight into and an overview of the cases in which an administrative measure in the form of an area restriction may be applied. We use the dashboard to provide management figures at the level of the municipality, the nuisance area, the type of order, the legal basis and the duration of the measure. For example, it can provide an overview of  

• the type of measure 
• the timeframes within which they are imposed 
• the duration of the measures 
• the various types of circumstances underlying the imposition of the measure 
• the type of outcome  
• the legal bases on which the decision may be taken  
• the data quality of case files.  

We also use this to monitor the problem areas where this administrative measure is being implemented, for example to check whether the problem is simply shifting elsewhere. This enables the local authority to monitor the process and make improvements where necessary. 

 

Considerations

• Efficiency and speed: large volumes of data are analysed automatically, resulting in rapid reports containing up-to-date and relevant information (trends and patterns that would be difficult to identify manually). 
• Consistency and objectivity: the dashboard provides a consistent way of analysing and presenting cases and associated data. This reduces the risk of human error or subjective interpretations. 
• Insight into process improvement: by automatically displaying lead times, processing status and data quality, we can quickly identify bottlenecks. This helps the local authority to implement targeted improvement measures and make the process more efficient. 
• Data integration: the dashboard can bring together data from different parts of the process, providing a comprehensive and integrated view of the cases. 

Human intervention

Coordinators and staff use the dashboard’s findings to gain an insight into the actual workings of the process. The dashboard’s data visualisations enable them to check whether current policy is being applied correctly and whether there are any notable trends. This may relate to specific areas of nuisance, causes, types of previous incidents, periods that deviate from or stand out in the figures, or the possible shift in the type of nuisance that we are trying to tackle. Based on these analyses, staff can make adjustments and changes where necessary to improve the process. 

Risk management

• Uses only the necessary data (only what is also entered into the case management systems); 
• Access to data visualisations is restricted by personal authorisation based on role/function (accessible only to those who are authorised to access the case management systems); 
• Substantive assessments are carried out by humans (human in control); 
• A Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) has been carried out for the OOV Data Warehouse; 
• The dashboard also displays the data quality of the files in the case management systems in which the data is recorded; 

Legal basis

The mayor has the legal authority to impose an area ban on a person if that person is causing a nuisance and/or (imminent) disruption to public order. The area ban is intended to prevent further nuisance or disruption to public order. The police inform the mayor of the nuisance or disturbance of public order via an administrative report or a referral. 

 

The mayor has four statutory powers.  

• The General Local Regulation (APV) grants the power to designate nuisance areas where the police can impose a short-term area ban and refer individuals to the mayor for a longer-term area ban.  
• The Nuisance Act grants the mayor the power to impose area bans for an area to be determined (this is not linked to an already designated nuisance area).  
• The Emergency Order grants the mayor the power to impose an area ban, including the area where the person concerned resides. This is only done if the person’s life is under threat.  
• The power to issue minor orders gives the mayor the authority to impose an exclusion order in urgent situations. This supplements the powers mentioned above.  

 

An area ban is imposed following a balancing of interests. In doing so, the local authority also takes into account the interests of the person concerned (such as the right to housing, care and work). Where possible, the local authority will ensure unimpeded access (a corridor) to the person’s home, workplace and essential care. 

Links to legal bases

• Article 147 of the Local Government Act: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0005416/2024-01-31/0
• Article 172(3) of the Local Government Act: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0005416/2024-01-31/0
• Article 172a of the Local Government Act: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0005416/2024-01-31/0
• Section 175 of the Local Government Act: https://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0005416/2024-01-31/0
• Articles 2.8, 2.9 and 2.9A of the Amsterdam General Local By-laws (APV): https://lokaleregelgeving.overheid.nl/CVDR72510/41

Link to Processing Index

https://www.amsterdam.nl/privacy/verwerkingsregister/verwerkingsregister-avg/

Elaboration on impact assessments

A DPIA is planned

Operations

Data

Dataset:

•  Case data; 
• Area data (nuisance areas) 

Source name:

*Decos (case management system in which the files are recorded) 

Data collected by:

*OOV Data Warehouse

Technical design

The data from the case management systems in which the files relating to area bans are recorded is fed into the OOV data warehouse and displayed on a dashboard. Here, for example, they are displayed – for a selected time period – by outcome, reason, area of nuisance, duration of the measure and the legal basis for the decision.