Frank Pauw appointed police chief in Amsterdam: report

Rotterdam police chief Frank Paauw will succeed Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg as police chief in Amsterdam. The documents for Paauw's appointment are already at the Ministry of Justice and Security and only the final formalities are required, multiple sources at both the Rotterdam and Amsterdam police and the police's Central Works Council confirmed to Het Parool.

The expectation is that Paauw will start in Amsterdam in April, though that has not yet been confirmed.

Last year Paauw said that there should be clarity about his appointment by Christmas. The fact that it took so much longer partly has to do with demands Paauw made about his new location, insiders told the newspaper. One of the most striking demands is that Paauw stipulated he wants to continue living in The Hague. It's always been customary that the Amsterdam police chief lives in Amsterdam. But according to Het Parool's sources, that custom has now been broken.

Another reason for the delay is that the Rotterdam police wanted to present Paauw's successor in the port city at the same time Paauw's appointment in Amsterdam was announced. But so far no successor has been found. According to the newspaper, not even the Central Works Council knows who Paauw's successor will be.

In Amsterdam Paauw was always considered the only suitable candidate to follow Aalbersberg, who was appointed the National Coordinator for Counter-terrorism and Security at the Ministry of Justice and Security.