Police staff shortages persist due to aging, tight labor market

The police’s staff shortages are proving to be persistent. The force hoped to be back to full strength in 2025, but now the police expect to still be 1,500 police officers short in 2027, NOS reports based on data provided by the police. The staff shortages span from the basic teams of police on the street to the criminal investigation department, the information departments, and some specialist services.

The police currently have 1,800 unfilled police positions out of a total of 48,000 operational employees. Despite various measures to improve capacity - the police academy is at max capacity with 2,500 trainees per year, and the police shortened basic training to deliver officers more quickly - the shortage will hardly improve by 2027.

According to the police, the persistent capacity problems are due to aging and the tight labor market. The police force is running empty as approximately 1,500 operational police officers will retire yearly in the coming period.

At the same time, the massive shortage in the labor market makes recruiting new people challenging. Police employees are also switching to other jobs more often than before as the labor market tightness increases competition from other employers. For that same reason, the police are also having trouble attracting lateral entrants, like financial specialists.

The police also want to expand. There is room for 1,400 additional police officers, growing the force to 49,500 operational employees in the coming years. The shortage of 1,500 police officers concerns the current formation, not the extra officers the police want to recruit to handle the ever-increasing workload.

The persistent capacity problems have major consequences, Liesbeth Huyzer of the police force leadership told NOS. “Reports are not being investigated because we always have a new priority. In the longer term, this will be at the expense of our reliability. I am very concerned about that,” she said. She blamed the current problems on the past policy of significant cuts to the police, followed by more money pushed into the force. “Due to the erratic policy of dismantling and then rebuilding, we are lagging behind the facts.

Huyzer hopes that the next Cabinet will look ahead longer than one government’s term and that politicians will stop putting more on the police’s plate. Every extra job means taking police officers away from something else, she said. Appointing more cops in the current market conditions, and given that the police academy is already maxed out, is not the solution, she said. “We have now asked for money for better resources and for digitalization. This will make the work more efficient and effective.”