Municipalities and the police are very concerned about the new Compulsory Mental Healthcare Act that takes effect on January 1st. They worry that the law will result in even more people with serious mental health problems being treated at home. And because there is already not enough outpatient care to help people at home 24/7, this will increase the pressure on the police, Liesbeth Spies, mayor of Alphen aan den Rijn and chairman of the Society of Dutch Mayors, said to Nieuwsuur.
National Police
Oct 29 '19 07:40
Oct 21 '19 16:10
A group of 20 civil society organizations, led by anti-discrimination action group Controle Alt Delete, filed an official complaint against the police unit Den Haag. According to the organizations, the police in The Hague have been ignoring signals and reports of discrimination within the police for years and that must change. The complaint was filed with National Police chief Erik Akerboom, and a copy was sent to Minister Ferdinand Grappenhaus of Justice and security.
Oct 14 '19 07:37
Violence was used again police officers working the party scene in Roosendaal and Doetinchem during the early hours of Sunday morning. One officer was injured and a total of eight people were arrested.
"Another weekend with excessive and unacceptable violence against colleagues", National Police chief Erik Akerboom said on Twitter. "In Roosendaal and Doetinchem, among others, things went wrong against colleagues 'just' doing their jobs. Local and national measures are once again necessary."
Oct 8 '19 08:09
The police are worried about enforcing local firework bans over New Year's and doubt whether these bans contribute to safety, National Police Chief Erik Akerboom said in a letter to parliament. "Maintaining public order is becoming a lot more complex for my people", he said in the letter, the Telegraf reports.
Oct 3 '19 07:42
Drug crime has become so big in the Netherlands partly because of inconsistent policy regarding the police, National Police Chief Erik Akerboom said in an interview with the Volkskrant.
"The up and down policy of successive cabinets means we cannot build a good position in the neighborhood. That you cannot build, stable long-term intelligence positions because you are always being asked to do something else", Akerboom said. As a result, the police lost sight of young criminals that start out as drug runners and grow into drug lords.
Sep 26 '19 15:00
A team chief of the Leiden police was placed on leave after she called public attention to racism, abuse of power and bullying within the police organization this summer. She was sent home because her criticism caused "too much internal tensions" at the police unit Den Haag, which covers Leiden, NRC reports.
Sep 20 '19 11:21
The police are liable for damages sustained during a mass shooting in the Ridderhof shopping center in Alphen aan den Rijn in 2011, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday. The authorities knew that gunman Tristan van der V. had psychological problems before he was issued a firearm permit, and he therefore should never have gotten that permit, the Supreme Court ruled.
On 9 April 2011, Tristan Van der V. opened fire in the Ridderhof shopping center. He killed six people and injured 16 others before committing suicide.
Sep 20 '19 08:12
A special anti-drug unit, based on the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), will be established in the Netherlands, Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus announced on Thursday after the murder of defense lawyer Derk Wiersum in Amsterdam. But more than that will be needed in the fight against organized crime, Eirk Heijdelberg, director of Willem Schrikker Youth Protection, said to broadcaster NOS.
Aug 2 '19 10:50
The police are launching a national, independent hotline for police officers who are discriminated against, intimidated or sexually harassed by their colleagues, National Police Chief Erik Akerboom said in an interview with NRC.
Jul 24 '19 11:50
The 21 thousand cops who have to work this New Year's will be equipped with earplugs to protect their hearing against firecrackers and other fireworks. As the government is refusing to respond to the plea of the police, dozens of other civil society organizations, doctors and many municipalities to ban firecrackers over New Year's, the National Police will take other measures, chief Erik Akerboom said, NU.nl reports.
Jul 17 '19 10:10
There are problems like racism, intimidation and sexual misconduct within the police, and National Police Chief Erik Akerboom works every day to reduce them. But it is an illusion that he can put an end to all these abuses within a few years, the police chief said in television program Jinek, NOS reports.
Jun 26 '19 09:45
The police registered a total of 527 shooting incidents throughout the Netherlands last year. That amounts to 1.5 shootings per day. A total of 44 people were killed in shootings in a year in a half, the Telegraaf reports based on figures requested from the National Police.
So far this year, a total of 240 shooting incidents were registered. That is a slight decrease compared to the same period last year. The newspaper has no figures regarding shooting incidents prior to 2018.
Jun 13 '19 07:32
The police plan to address problems at its forensic investigation department caused by staff shortages and outdated tech at the root - by hiring 200 new police officers and investing in new technology, AD reports.
Apr 25 '19 11:00
Children's Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer wants the police to stop making underage suspects spend a night in jail for a minor offense. Minors who are arrested should not only be seen as a suspect, but also as a child, Kalverboer said in a new report, ANP reports.
"It is very drastic for children to be locked up in a cell, especially at night", the child advocate said. "If children are locked up, the police must be able to explain why."
Mar 13 '19 08:37
The police regularly manipulate crime figures, according to a study among police officers by investigative journalism platform Investico. Criminal offenses are kept off the books, police officers try to discourage citizens from filling reports, and cases are marked as 'resolved' when they are not, according to the study published in De Groene Amsterdammer.
The platform surveyed nearly 1,500 police officers and conducted interviews with dozens of cops and others involved.
Mar 6 '19 11:00
Dutch citizens are generally more positive about the police than the police officers themselves, according to a reputation survey carried ut by the police. The worst score the police received came from police officers themselves on employership and leadership. According to the report, these scores are "deep into the danger zone", NU.nl reports.
Dec 10 '18 07:29
The Dutch police make note of the origin of all police employees to make sure that diversity increases within the corps, Lute Nieuwerth, head of diversity at the police, said in an interview with the Volkskrant.
According to Nieuwerth, the origin of employees is stored in such a way that it can not be traced back to individuals. The registration is to gain insight into how diverse the police force is, he said.
Nov 5 '18 10:30
The police want to oblige people caught with illegal fireworks throughout the year to report to the police over New Year's, in an effort to improve the safety of police officers and other emergency workers. Every New Year's there are incidents in which first responders are pelted with fireworks. The police reason that people can't throw illegal fireworks if they have to report to the police over New Year's, NOS reports.
Oct 26 '18 15:50
A 46-year-old woman from Gouda was sentenced to institutionalized psychiatric treatment for stalking National Police Chief Erik Akerboom and his wife. The court in The Hague considered it proven that the woman sent the couple over 2,500 threatening emails. They sometimes received 50 per day, NOS reports.
In one email she wrote: "Do not come near me in my neighborhood Erik, because I will really break you". Another read: "No, I will not give you an extra day. Can I kill you or just wait like your predecessor?"
Aug 2 '18 09:50
The police unions expanded their labor actions in their conflict with the police about a collective bargaining agreement for officers. From Thursday police officers will no longer collect outstanding fines and other overdue payments, NOS reports.
Jul 16 '18 09:27
Since 2015 the police spent 4.7 million euros on lawyers assisting police officers, for example because they used violence, NOS reports based on figures requested from the police.
May 22 '18 09:54
This year the Dutch Rescue Brigade will again hand out children's wristbands at busy beaches and lakes. Parents can write their phone numbers on the wristbands, making it easier to reunite a lost child with his or her responsible adult, the Telegraaf reports.
May 16 '18 15:00
The falling crime figures in the Netherlands sometimes clash with reality, National Police chief Erik Akerbom said on Wednesday at the presentation of the police's annual results for 2017. Last year crime figures fell by 11 percent, the fifth year in a row that there's been a decline.
Apr 11 '18 12:20
National Police Chief Erik Akerboom thinks that the use of drugs in the entertainment circuit has become too normalized and he wants to get rid of the "normal image" of this type of consumption, he said at an international police summit in Rotterdam on Tuesday, NU.nl reports.
Drug fighters from 120 countries are gathered in Rotterdam to learn from each other and make agreements on an international approach to fighting drug trafficking and production.
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