Quarter of cops threatened by criminals

Nearly a quarter of Dutch police officers have been threatened by criminals at some point in their careers. For 12 percent, that happened in the past year, according to a study among 600 police officers by Mehlbaum Research commissioned by Police and Science.

The researchers note that community police officers especially run the risk “of becoming a target when they come into conflict with serious criminals in their regular work.” Detectives are also often targeted.

The police called it worrying that criminals are increasingly threatening police officers personally. “In the past, it was the police who were threatened, the institution. Now you see that police officers and their loved ones are threatened in the private sphere, personally,” said Peije de Meij, the police officer in charge of the Violence in the Police file. There have been cases in which criminals had private information about cops, such as their address, license plate number, or the school their kids attend.

According to the study, most cops don’t experience any conscious negative impact from the threats, and some even indicate they motivate them. But De Meij warns that the impact exists. “If you are threatened, it can lead to different behavior, to reluctance at work. And don’t ignore the mental pressure. If you are threatened in your private sphere, it affects you, perhaps unconsciously. We are already noticing that colleagues want to work anonymously and unrecognizably more often.” The police only allow that in extreme cases, he added.

Only a fifth of the threatened respondents reported the crime. De Meij urged police officers to come forward when they receive threats. “The safety of our people is our top priority as an employer. If an employee is threatened, that is priority number one for the police management,” he said. But the police can only act if they know about the problem. Reports are also necessary to bring the perpetrators to justice, he said.