National Police

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. 

The police plan to address problems at its forensic investigation department caused by staff shortages and outdated tech at the root - by hiring 200 new police officers and investing in new technology, AD reports.

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. 

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.

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?"

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. 

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.

In 2017 the Dutch police had fewer incidents in which a police officer used violence during the course of his or her duties than in the year before. Last year cops in the Netherlands used violence 12,394 times, compared to 14,672 in 2016, the National Police announced on Monday.

These uses of violence include all forms of violence the police can use if a situation demands it, such as firing a warning shot or directly at a suspect, pepper spray, baton, or physical violence.

Last year police officers in the Netherlands faced 9,101 incidents of verbal or physical violence directed at them. That means that every day last year 25 police officers were insulted, threatened or physically abused while working, NOS reports.

The police responded to a record number of 83,501 incidents involving "disturbed" persons last year, an increase of 12 percent compared to 2016. Between 2013 and 2016 the number of incidents involving disturbed persons increased by nearly 60 percent, according to figures the police released on Tuesday.

Noord-Nederland received the most reports of incidents involving someone showing disturbed behavior with 13,806. Den Haag followed with 10,764, and then Noord-Nederland with 9,862.  

National Police Chief Erik Akerboom wants a mental health worker available in every neighborhood in the Netherlands. The police increasingly have to respond to emergency situations involving people with mental health problems, and this can be avoided if they get the help they need before things get out of hand, he said in an interview with newspaper AD.