The Dutch wrestle with crime and the natural world as today's papers feature damning reports on robberies and the government's failure to stem a major epidemic. A committee recommends the humane killing of wild animals, the Netherlands' troubled mega-college gets a new boss and it's hammer time for a cool portrait of Queen Beatrix.

Who says crime doesn't pay?
Crime rates are causing all kinds of concern in today's Dutch papers following the release of an alarming report on robbery in the Netherlands. Under the telling headline "Catch me if you can", nrc.next reports that "the number of robberies is on the rise but the chances that a robber will be arrested and convicted are slim". Sister paper NRC Handelsblad talks to senior police officials who warn of "a looming crisis in crime fighting" and express concern that "the credibility and legitimacy of the police is under threat". The figures certainly give food for thought: the paper notes that only one in four recorded crimes gets solved and a third of reported crimes that warrant further investigation are left on the shelf.

New law and order minister Ivo Opstelten issued a tough-talking response to the news, demanding that the number of robberies be brought down from nearly 3,000 a year to 2,000 and exclaiming "we won't settle for less!" But nrc.next thinks it won't be easy, as "lack of experience and routine means that the police have only a tenuous grip on robberies". The paper looks beyond the present problems to the future, pointing out that "a criminal career often begins with a small-scale robbery" and that "if the police fail to act, robbers move on to organised crime".

Amid all the anxiety, vigilantism is on the rise. AD reports that the mayor of the town of Zaltbommel has become something of a national celebrity by encouraging people to "give robbers a damn good thrashing"; while a local shopkeeper who fought off three muggers with a karate kick is now enjoying hero status.

Q fever report: public health came second
There's more bad news for the Dutch authorities with a damning report on its efforts to deal with the major outbreak of Q fever in the Netherlands between 2007 and 2010. The disease affects goats, cattle and sheep but can also infect humans. Trouw informs us that 14 people in the Netherlands have died of the disease since 2007, almost 4000 people became ill and hundreds had to be admitted to hospital. The committee examining the crisis blames the government for "being too cautious in taking action" and reveals that while the Health Ministry wanted to tackle the source of the infection as quickly as possible, the Agriculture Ministry "sought solid scientific evidence on the disease and its source" for fear of legal action. One of the report's main conclusions is that the Health Ministry and not the Agriculture Ministry should take the lead if such a crisis occurs again in future.

Trouw's headline is "people came second" in the crisis. It goes on to report that the opposition has seized on the report as confirmation that "the interests of the agricultural sector prevailed over the interests of public health". The paper also notes that this conflict of interests has affected the farmers and their relationship with local residents: "the farmers who were affected are gradually resuming working life, but things will never be the same again". The paper talks to one farmer who says "we have learned that as farmers we don't live on an island. We owe a responsibility to those around us and need to show them how we live and work." We can only hope that all parties concerned show a similar capacity for learning from the past.

Shoot-to-kill policy for humane Dutch nature reserve
Another report on man's relationship with nature also receives major coverage today. A committee has looked into the Netherlands' policy on managing the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve, which is home to around 3,000 grazing animals such as wild horses, deer and cattle. There was an outcry last winter as many of the animals were left to die of cold and hunger. It's an age-old discussion: is it more humane to intervene or to let nature take its course? Or as the minister responsible put it in de Volkskrant: "the moral dilemma between the value of a natural area and the value of animal welfare".

Summarising the committee's recommendations, de Volkskrant's headline doesn't beat about the bush: "Weak grazers will get the bullet earlier". But it's quick to point out that this is "to prevent unnecessary suffering". Other important recommendations include giving the animals more shelter but refraining from more extreme intervention such as contraception or giving them extra food. Trouw praises the report as "well-considered" and the committee for "not allowing itself to be swayed by public sentiment". With AD's front page predicting a cold snap ahead, it may not be too long before we know whether this approach will withstand the force of public opinion.

Can new boss turn excess to success?
All of the papers devote considerable space to the appointment of a new head at higher education college InHolland. So a college has got a new boss, what's the big deal? Well, as de Volkskrant tells us, InHolland was at the centre of "a series of scandals" that has shaken the country's faith in the higher education system: "a notorious example of educational ailments such as excessive expansion, fraud with degree certificates, insufficient teaching and governors who pocketed exorbitant salaries". As the paper reports, it will be up to new boss Doekle Terpstra to "clear away the debris … restore the trust of students and teachers … and drive up the quality of the teaching". Or as the man himself puts it: "The school finds itself in a torrent of trouble, and I want to help put a stop to it".

De Telegraaf reports that "Terpstra's appointment sparks criticism" with many wondering if he's the right man for the job. The paper talks to one Socialist Party MP who argues that, in his previous position as head of the council responsible for higher education colleges like InHolland, Mr Terpstra "failed to demonstrate that he was serious about tackling the problems in higher professional education". NRC.next charts "the rise and fall of InHolland" which at its foundation was "the largest educational institute in the Netherlands", a "mega college" born of a four-way merger, with a turnover of around 200 million euros.

The paper sums up the ensuing problem as one of excess: "the sky was the limit" but "the institute and its governors had an insatiable appetite for more" and were "too concerned with playing companies and submitting expenses claims". In this light, perhaps the new boss should have chosen his words more carefully when stating forcefully to de Volkskrant that he plans "to run the school like a CEO".

Pop Queen goes under the hammer
Trouw regales us with the news that "Andy Warhol's pop-art queen" is to go under the hammer at Christie's in Amsterdam. The painting is a pretty-in-pink portrait of a young Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands dating from 1985, one of four royal portraits in what the artist called his Reigning Queens series. The auction house announces with pride that Warhol dubbed Queen Beatrix the fairest of the four.

Under the headline "cool queen for sale", nrc.next comments that "the queen is not often portrayed in a disco-like atmosphere reminiscent of celebrated New York nightclub Studio 54". It remains to be seen whether this rare spectacle will fetch the royal sum of 500,000 euros the auction house hopes to drum up.