Dutch municipalities spending much more on security

Municipalities have significantly increased their spending on security in recent years. According to Statistics Netherlands (CBS), the burden on this policy area has increased by approximately 40 percent over a five-year period.

This includes disaster management, fire services, and public order supervision and maintenance. In 2018, municipalities spent approximately €1.8 billion on these matters. By 2023, the most recent year for which CBS has data, this had risen to almost €2.6 billion.

The sharp increase can be explained in part by the large number of enforcement officers hired by several large municipalities between 2018 and 2023. Compensation for earthquake damage in Groningen also plays a role, driving up safety costs for municipalities in that province.

Municipalities have also begun performing more tasks themselves rather than through joint arrangements, such as security regions. Regarding security, expenditure on joint schemes increased by only 32 percent to €1.4 billion.

This latter trend is also visible in other policy areas. Municipalities spent over 55 percent more in 2024 than in 2017. Expenditure on joint schemes, which also includes the security regions and the municipal health services GGDs, increased by only 23 percent during the same period.

According to CBS, this difference is due to the shift of tasks to municipalities. This also applies, for example, to the assessment and payment of social assistance benefits.

Only in 2020 and 2021 was the overall picture different. In those years, expenditure by the GGDs and security regions was temporarily much higher due to the coronavirus pandemic.