Police used violence 33,584 times last year; Up 12%

The police used violence 33,584 times in 20,667 incidents last year, according to a report published on Wednesday. The number of incidents increased by 18 percent compared to 2021. The use of violence was 12 percent higher.

The use of violence includes firearms, batons, pepper spray, electroshock weapons, and physical violence. More than half of the cases involved physical violence, in which officers didn’t use any weapon. Firearms and batons were the weapons most commonly used. Police officers used their firearms 2,115 times, firing aimed shots 86 times and only aiming the gun at someone 1,499 times.

Like last year, the most incidents of police violence happened in the Den Haag Unit at 3,174, followed by Oost-Nederland (3,099), Amsterdam (2,502), Oost-Brabant (2,003), and Midden-Nederland (1,970).

Frank Paauw, police chief in Amsterdam and in charge of the conflict and crisis management file at the police, called it important to share this report on violence used by the police. “It gives society and us insight into how we use our means of force. It is important that we choose the lightest possible means if we have to use force, with as little injury as possible and with maximum attention to the safety of those involved and police officers.”

According to Paauw, society is changing. “That forces us to be even more careful with the use of force. Precisely to prevent us ending up in a downward spiral of violence.”

The electroshock weapon, used 4,400 times last year - the first year it was broadly available to police officers - is a good example of that, Paauw said. “The electroshock weapon is a valuable addition and has proven that in three-quarters of the deployments, threatening was enough to get the situation under control. That means less injury and less violence.”