Police abandoning many more cases due to capacity issues; 45,000 dropped last year

The police are increasingly abandoning cases because they lack the time and personnel to conduct investigations. Last year, the police dropped at least 45,000 cases due to capacity issues. That is more than double the number dropped in 2020, NOS and Pointer report based on data from the police.

The cases dropped last year included at least 3,700 “high-impact crimes” like burglaries, assaults, and threats. This is also twice as many as in 2020. Reports of common, more minor crimes, like bike thefts, shoplifting, and online fraud, are left unaddressed even more often. Last year, the police abandoned 42,000 of these investigations due to capacity shortages, 2.5 times more than in 2020.

In the first half of this year, the police have already terminated at least 24,000 cases prematurely due to a lack of time and staff. This often leads to distressing situations for victims whose reports go uninvestigated. The shortages also impact active investigations. Sometimes evidence is lost because there is insufficient capacity to comb a crime scene, analyze data, or interview witnesses.

Gert Veurink, police chief at the Oost-Nederland police and in charge of the national investigations portfolio, acknowledged that the police have a problem. “There will always be more work than we can handle, but we find the magnitude of the problems now worrying,’ he told NOS.

In an attempt to save valuable resources, the police and the Public Prosecution Service are increasingly opting for settling cases in alternative ways, such as with a warning interview, referral to support services, or with civil damages proceedings. The police are also making more discerning choices about which reports to pursue. “Cases with the most potential, or with victims, always get priority,” Veurink said. “Smaller cases and cases without leads are the first to be dropped. But unfortunately, the problems are so extensive that it doesn’t stop there.”

Part of the problem is that the police’s workload has increased significantly in recent years, the police chief said. “Think of all the deployments at demonstrations and the NATO summit, the many reports of people with disturbed behavior, and the need for surveillance and security. This means we are increasingly forced to make choices.”

The shortages are particularly significant in the criminal investigations department. Over 1,500 of the 10,000 detectives will retire in the coming years. The police are trying to close gaps by accelerating training programs and using technology. But all that comes with a price tag, and the police’s budget is already tight. Recently, the police advocated for an additional €350 million per year to address the biggest problems.