Report: Dutch police used force 10,000 times last year

Police in the Netherlands used force over 10 thousand times last year, about the same number as in the previous few years, according to figures the police released on Monday AD reports. The use of force includes physical violence, use of pepper spray and batons, the use of a service dog, threatening with a firearm or firing a shot or warning shot. Between 2010 and 2013 the number of times the police used force per year was around 14 thousand. The police attribute the decrease partly to changes in the registration process of incidents. For example, before 2013 taking a police dog with you was considered the use of force, even if the dog stayed in the car and was not used at all.