After four police officers were injured during arrests in Rotterdam over the weekend, National Police Chief Erik Akerboom called violence against first responders unacceptable and called for harsher punishments. But for police officers, these words are not enough.
Central Works Council Police
Apr 2 '19 08:16
Last year there were 10,593 incidents of violence against police officers in the Netherlands, the police said in a statement. That is a significant increase compared to the 9,101 violent incidents Dutch cops faced in 2017.
Mar 18 '19 11:30
Police officers faced much more violence aimed against them over New Year's than the official figures show, the police's Central Works Council said after extensive investigation. Of the over 3,400 police officers that participated in the council's survey, 326 said they were confronted with one or more forms of violence, ranging from verbal threats to physical violence, ANP reports.
Nov 14 '18 08:59
The access control systems at police stations in the Netherlands are "super vulnerable" - access passes can easily be copied, sources told newspaper AD.
In this way malicious parties can gain access to offices where police firearms are stored, evidence rooms, or even locker rooms where police uniforms are kept, according to the newspaper. Uniforms were previously stolen during a burglary at a police station in Haren. "It is super vulnerable", a source said to AD. "And that at a time when we know that criminal organizations want to frustrate the police."
Oct 17 '17 09:20
The national unit of the Dutch police is in desperate need of money and staff, and can not perform its work properly in the current situation, Richard Bronswijk, chairman of the Central Works Council, said in an interview with newspaper AD. The current situation resulted in serious criminals not being arrested in some cases, he said.
"There is a disadvantage in terms of people and organization", Bronswijk said to the newspaper. "The reorganization of the National Police was disastrous for us." He's taking the issue to the press, because otherwise nothing changes.
Sep 12 '17 14:10
Non-existent supervision on police expenses from the police leadership and the Ministry of Security and Justice was one of the main factors that resulted in exorbitant spending by the National Police's Central Works Council (CWC), a committee led by Maarten Ruys concluded. For years the police leadership acted "insufficiently" against overruns on the CWC's budget, ANP reports.
Sep 11 '17 14:30
The National Police leadership knew about the Central Works Council's excessive spending for years, but allowed it to happen, AD reported on Monday based on confidential documents the newspaper got hold of.
Jun 1 '17 08:30
Police across the Netherlands are still struggling with their vehicles' navigation system, according to a letter from Amsterdam police chief Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg which AD has in its possession. Many police cars can't be used because the navigation system often fails and contact with the control room is impossible through it. Police teams are squabbling over the cars and motorcycles that still work, according to the newspaper.
May 22 '17 09:28
From today Amsterdam police officers will be equipped with bodycams in a test run that will last two years. Every police officer in the so-called base teams will be allowed to wear a bodycam during his or her shift. The intention is to see if bodycams reduce the number of violent incidents, but many are concerned about the privacy implications, RTL Nieuws reports.
Previous bodycam studies showed that people who know they are being recorded, are less likely to use violence. This test in the Amsterdam police is intended to see whether this really is the case.
May 9 '17 11:25
The police corps leadership and the police central works council are meeting on Tuesday to discuss unrest and dissatisfaction among police officers about a plan to disarm some of them. The National Police plans to disarm a significant part of the nearly 200 traffic officers, the Telegraaf reports based on a confidential intranet document the newspaper managed to get hold of.
Nov 15 '16 13:00
A third investigation was launched into the spending habits of the National Police's Central Works Council (CWC). This one focuses on one of the now resigned council's members, ANP reports.
Nov 8 '16 13:25
Former police chief Gerard Bouman is stepping down as adviser to the National Police while the investigation into his role in the expense irregularities of the police's Central Works Council is ongoing. This decision was made in consultation with Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice, sources in The Hague confirmed to NU.nl after reports in the Telegraaf.
Nov 8 '16 07:24
The members of the police's Central Works Council (CWC) resigned on Monday night following an investigation that showed that they wasted considerable sums of money from the CWC budget, ANP reports.
The investigation revealed that a large part of the CWC's 1.6 million euro budget was spent on dinners ,parties, nights in hotels with champagne breakfast and hiring image coaches, among other things.
Nov 3 '16 08:32
The role former Security and Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten played in majore irregularities in the National Police Central Work Council's expenses should also be a subject of investigation, according to opposition parties SP, CDA, PVV, D66 and ChristenUnie, NOS reports.
The parties also want former Police Chief Gerard Bouman to be suspended immediately and want him to not play any roll with the police until the investigation against him is done. Bouman is currently an adviser for the police.
Nov 1 '16 16:35
The case surrounding exorbitant spending by the police's Central Works Council can partly be attributed to solo actioins of former chairman Frank Giltay and partly to failed supervision, Chief of Police Erik Akerboom said during a press conference on Tuesday. According to him, the other members of the CWC did not dare contradict Giltay, who resigned after an investigation was launched into the council's expenses, NOS reports.
Nov 1 '16 08:21
Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice is expected to announce an independent investigation into former National Police Chief Gerard Bouman on Wednesday, NRC reports. The investigation will focus on whether Bouman played a roll in the irregularities in the police's Central Works Council's spending.
Oct 28 '16 08:43
Gerard Bouman, former Chief of the National Police, is under an investigation aimed at finding out whether he was involved in expense irregularities in the police's central works council (CWC), the Gelderlander repoprts based on information from insiders.
Oct 12 '16 15:40
An internal investigation into expense irregularities in the National Police's works council led to Police Chief Erik Akerboom pressing charges with the Public Prosecutor. The investigation revealed that criminal offenses may have been committed, the police announced on Wednesday
Jun 21 '16 16:20
Frank Giltay resigned as chairman of the police's Central Works Council on Tuesday following irregularities around expenses made under his supervision, the National Police confirmed to Nu.nl
Sep 14 '15 09:45
The safety of the Dutch society and police officers themselves will be put in danger if any further cuts are made to the National Police. More cutbacks will make a number of police activities impossible to perform.
