Between Statistics and Reality

   On this blogpost recently I discussed the difference between poverty on paper and real poverty. Based on my own experiences, I’d like to add another example that shows how statistics on paper don’t always reflect reality. Every word can be verified—not only through personal experience, but also through deep research into statistics about safer countries. And here are examples, we could to discuss another statistics and realities. 

Why I write it…? I am pretty angry when stats are not reality. 

 So on paper, Czechia appears to be one of the safer countries in Europe. Eurostat data places it low in terms of violent crime and homicide rates. However, statistics don’t always capture the full reality of public life. 

While Czechia may look safe numerically, the everyday experience of safety—particularly in cities—can tell a different story. In contrast, the Netherlands not only ranks high in terms of quality of life and urban development, but also feels more secure and organized, from public transportation to nightlife, and from festival culture to the visibility of social issues.

 ⸻ Street Crime: A Telling Daily Reality 

 One major difference is the visibility of street-level criminality, especially petty theft, pickpocketing, shoplifting, and public disorder. While neither country is plagued by high levels of violent crime, street crime is noticeably more visible in Czechia, especially in crowded tourist areas, train stations, and nightlife zones. In Czech cities not just like Prague, pickpocketing and minor theft are common enough to shape locals’ and tourists’ behaviors—keeping backpacks locked, phones out of sight, and extra caution in nightlife districts. In Dutch cities, by contrast, street-level criminality tends to be more discreet or well-managed. Public transport is monitored, streets are well-lit and designed for visibility, and community policing is more embedded in urban planning. Tourists and residents alike tend to report a higher baseline feeling of safety, even in larger cities like Amsterdam or Rotterdam. Public conflicts are more visible especially in Czech urban areas. Common hotspots include nightlife zones, transport hubs, and housing estates. Alcohol, drug abuse and social tensions often play a role. Bystander intervention is rare, and response can feel passive unless violence escalates. Harassment, particularly targeting women or minorities, remains a concern with limited legal protection. Street conflict in the Netherlands is far less common. Dutch culture encourages bystander action, and public aggression is culturally discouraged, and laws against street harassment are stronger and more enforced — for example, catcalling bans in cities like Rotterdam. 

+ Smart Surveillance & Active Deterrence — Cities like Rotterdam have extensive CCTV networks, often integrated with AI-based monitoring and real-time alert systems. Often acoustic sensors and wireless alerts can notify nearby authorities or even warn individuals when they engage in unlawful behavior — for instance, loitering, vandalism, or public harassment. These systems are often part of broader “smart city” initiatives, aiming to deter crime before it escalates. While major cities like Prague have CCTV, the systems are less integrated, and real-time intervention is rare. Cameras mostly serve as post-incident evidence tools, and there’s little immediate feedback or deterrence. Also, public trust in police tech and surveillance tends to be lower, so these systems are often underused or limited in reach.

 ⸻ Nightlife and Events: Regulation Over Ambiguity 

  Nightlife in the Netherlands is generally seen as well-structured and safe. Events benefit from strong partnerships between organizers, municipalities, and health services. Zero-tolerance drug policies, medical teams, and crowd safety protocols are standard. Czech nightlife often suffers from weaker oversight. Security varies widely by venue, and drug use—particularly in underground or semi-legal spaces—is more visible. This lack of structure can lead to a greater feeling of vulnerability, especially for young people and visitors.   

⸻ Drugs and Public Perception 

  Despite the Netherlands’ liberal global reputation, hard drugs are less visible in public life. Cannabis may be sold legally in coffeeshops, but open drug use is generally confined to controlled environments. Public drug use or signs of addiction in the streets are less common and more swiftly addressed by local services. In Czechia, drug use is more openly visible in urban spaces, particularly in Prague’s inner districts and some regional towns. Decriminalization without adequate social infrastructure or harm reduction has led to a normalization of public drug scenes, which undermines perceptions of safety and cohesion.

⸻ Sustainability, Poverty, and Social Trust 

  The Netherlands also excels in areas beyond policing and regulation. Sustainability is a lived value—seen in efficient public transport, clean urban environments, renewable energy initiatives, and social housing policy. Meanwhile, Czechia struggles with visible poverty, especially outside tourist zones. From neglected public infrastructure to rising homelessness in cities, there’s a tangible sense that social care is less prioritized. 

⸻ Civic Identity: Embracing or Resisting Europe  

 

 Culturally, the Netherlands leans confidently into its European identity. EU values—human rights, inclusivity, environmental responsibility—are integrated into daily life and education. Czechia, by contrast, retains a skeptical post-communist stance toward the EU, with segments of society (including parts of youth culture) increasingly tolerant of authoritarian rhetoric, nationalism, and social apathy. These trends point to a deeper tension in how civic life is imagined and practiced. 

⸻ Urban Safety and Livability: A Dutch Advantage 

 Cities like Amsterdam, Utrecht, Groningen, The Hague, Rotterdam and Eindhoven frequently appear in rankings of Europe’s most livable and safest cities. These rankings take into account factors like public transport reliability, healthcare access, environmental quality, digital infrastructure, and civic participation. Czech cities, including Prague, are notably absent from these top rankings. 

⸻ Conclusion: Safer on Paper, Not Always in Practice 

  While Czechia may rank highly in safety statistics, the Netherlands provides a more consistent, functional, and secure public environment. From street crime to nightlife safety, from drug visibility to urban design, the difference is clear in lived experience. Statistics show Czechia is overall “safer” than the Netherlands (likely referring to general crime rates or homicide data). However, they point out that in practical, urban contexts, the safest cities in Europe tend to be in the Netherlands—suggesting that daily life may feel safer in Dutch cities due to infrastructure, social trust, or better governance.

⸻ Murders (Homicides)

 In 2023, the Netherlands recorded 125 homicides among a population of 17.9 million. That’s just 0.00070% of the population — less than 1 murder per 100,000 people. Czechia, meanwhile, saw 157 homicides in a smaller population of 10.8 million, it’s 0.00145% of the population.

A real story of Leucanthemum

 Towards Leucanthemum (Leontyne)—a Sidney SN mix—I once had words for real things that happened. But in the shadow of this mix, something entirely different can exist than the happiness someone felt at a Dutch festival. The inspiration for this Sidney SN mix could lie in different realities. 

Leontyne can be a girl who lives in a space between realities. She can visit the human world as a ghost, but she cannot exist in the world as a physical being. Her deepest desire is to share a relationship with one person. Yet she cannot realize this longing, because she has no physical form. 

She is like a prisoner, living as a leucanthemum. She is as beautiful as a leucanthemum, as peaceful as a leucanthemum, she sways gracefully in the wind like a leucanthemum— but like the flower, she cannot move of her own will. 

And the one, maybe the one can just observe this beautiful flower: the way her hair moves with the wind in the stillness of a sorrow. But a quiet truth burns within the one’s heart: The one searching for a way to set their desires to be possible.

Disillusion: A End of the Realization

 Recently, I read about an operation where seemingly probably (almost) every attendee at a free tekno party in Czechia was subjected to police drug control. 

The results reportedly confirmed what many already suspected. I see the police visitor controls at free tekno events in Czechia as a kind of success. These operations have the potential to shut down the biggest (— adjusted for population size, Czechia has the largest) free tekno raving in Europe. And the reason lies in something fundamental to the culture of these events: drugs— narcotics. 

For many in the free tekno scene, the presence of narcotics is not just common—it’s central. Without the free space for narcotics, the very essence of what free tekno has come to represent for its participants begins to fall apart. In the world of free tekno, the unwritten rule seems to be: No narcotics, no rave. And when that is broken—when the risk becomes too high—the free tekno existence as it exists today can’t continue. 

It might actually be a good idea these kinds of controls at all free tekno raves—because such pressure has the potential to shut down the free space for narcotic using. If these drug checks become routine, free tekno persons will become angry or disillusioned, simply because they can no longer “realize” themselves in the way they’re used to.