Dutch treasury missing out on €1.5 mil. a week due to police fines protest

Police unions believe that their protests that started in early May have led to the Dutch treasury missing out on millions of euros. Nine Kooiman, chair for the Nederlandse Politiebond, the Dutch police union, confirmed the initial report by de Telegraaf.

The unions estimated that the treasury is missing out on 1.5 million euros a week due to the protest of not writing fines anymore.

Since 7 May, protesting officers have been issuing fewer fines for minor misdemeanors because the unions demand a structural early retirement scheme. People are usually being warned for small misdemeanors rather than fined, and a speeding violation does not automatically lead to a fine anymore. Officers have been making their own decisions about whether to fine or only issue a warning to the person.

According to Kooiman, around 5,000 to 10,000 fines are usually issued weekly on the street, and the same number is issued weekly for speeding violations. Therefore, officers handing out warnings as opposed to fines leads to the treasury losing a lot of money at a fast rate. Kooiman suspects that the total amount of money that has been lost due to this is around 8 to 24 million euros.

"I really do not understand why a new minister and new Cabinet does not sort this out instantly," said Kooiman. "You are knowingly emptying your treasury. I would consider it the first good deed of the new minister, Van Weel, to solve this."

Other protests are also still ongoing. For example, agents no longer assist bailiffs. Kooiman has not ruled out heavier protests. "We have closed stations in the past; that is something we could think of doing. But you could also think of us not offering support at events and demonstrations if that can be done safely." Kooiman also spoke of "harder protests which would affect the Cabinet" but would not currently say what these protests could be.

Since 2021, police employees have been able to retire three years earlier than the state pension age, but this arrangement is temporary. The unions are pushing for a permanent arrangement.