Security Foundation: Too few beat cops on the street

The police are too focused on catching criminals and not enough on maintaining public order on the streets, according to the society and security foundation SMV. As a result, municipalities and mayors are increasingly forced to hire in external forces to maintain public order. "In practice we see that many police tasks are taken over by a motley collection of wardens, city guards, private security guards and whatnot, which are often on a different level than the police", the SMV writes in a statement. According to the foundation, the problem lies with the fact that since the introduction of the National Police the responsibility for managing the police lies entirely with the Ministry of Security and Justice. "The monopoly over the police is therefore with Security and Justice. With the risk that the police's detection task will prevail over the public order task." The SMV wants the responsibility for managing the police to once again be shared between the Ministry of Security and Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs. "The SMV is, along with many others, concerned about the current developments around the Ministry of Security and Justice. It would appear that the enormity of the Ministry is an obstacle."