Local policing in Nationalized Police Force: A study on the local teams of the
Netherlands’ National Police (P251 – P262)
The Netherlands is one of those countries where the police were confronted with such far-reaching
reform (centralization of the police organization). Since January 2013 the Netherlands has had a
national police force, based on the new Police Act 2012.
What makes the Netherlands an interesting case, also from an international perspective, is that the
Netherlands’ reform also had high ambitions about local policing. Not only should community-
oriented styles of policing be promoted, but police work should also become information-led,
problem-oriented and what was called context driven.
Transition to the National Police
With 25 semi-autonomous regional police services, the organization of the police was generally
perceived as highly complex and fragmented. As a consequence, it often proved difficult to develop
coherent police policing.
The main reason why in 2012 the then new Netherlands’ government launched the proposal for a
centralized and national police force was to stop the organizational fragmentation and to do
something between the regional forces.
To create more uniform police organization, it was felt to be necessary to establish more
standardized procedures and work processes.
Structure of the National Police
Illustrative is that this large organization with about 63,000 persons, is formally governed by a single
officer, the national Chief Constable. In the original design of the National Police there were only
three organization levels:
1. the national level;
2. the level of the 10 regional units;
3. 167 local police teams.
The National Police force is based on two potentially contradictory principles:
There is strong centralization and standardization;
The aim is that the police should also have a strong local position.
The authority over the police refers to the power to make decisions about the actual use of the
police, including decisions about police work, priorities, and strategies. (Beheer, Ministerie van
justitie en Veiligheid)
According to the Netherlands’Police Act 2012 the local authority over the police is divided between
the mayor and the public prosecutor.
The mayor has authority over the police regarding issues of public order and police services.
The public prosecutor has authority over the police as far as it concerns the police tasks in
law enforcement (in practice the investigation of crime).
There must be at least one community police officer for 5000 residents. These community officers
should have a coordinating role in the local teams and contribute to the strong location position of
the police.
Three findings regarding scale enlargement and the governance of local police work
1. The local teams of the Netherlands’ National Police are really very large.
, One of the consequences of this scale enlargement is that the areas of the local
police increased considerably, resulting in large distances and more driving time for
the police, especially in rural areas.
2. The National Police should have contributed to far-reaching standardization and a more
uniform police organization, in fact there are still considerable differences between teams, in
the wat that they are organized, in their work processes, and in their culture.
3. In the original plans for the National Police, it had been realized that the introduction of large
local police teams might have some negative side effects, especially for the need of many
officers to have strong social bonds with their colleagues.
As a result, with the introduction of the new local police teams, in many respects the governance of
police work has become less effective. What makes the governance of local policing even more
complex is that with the introduction of the National Police local police work has become increasingly
dependent on decisions made at higher organizational levels. As a result, the realization of police
work adapted to local circumstances, has become more difficult.
Four categories of local police work
1. Patrolling;
2. community policing;
3. investigation of petty crimes;
4. service provision.
Patrol officers prefer to drive around, waiting for the next call, hoping that this may be exciting,
instead of having to carry out a boring and uninteresting assignment.
With the transition to the National Police, large numbers of police stations were closed, especiallt in
the rural areas. Instead of police stations, there are now what is called small service points of police.
There are usually in the rural municipality’s offices. How they are organized and operate differs
somewhat.
Usually only community police officers work at these service points. This implies that
now community officers in the rural areas are often more isolated from other
members of their team. This makes it even harder for them to realize the central and
steering role that they supposed to have in their team.
Their position at the service point often far away from the police station of their tea,
also contributes to a considerable loss of time.
Service provision
The police should encourage citizens to normally use the internet pr telephone to contact the police
or to report a crime. Citizens are discouraged from going to the police station to report a crime.
Citizens should only come to the police station if it concerns a serious case, but only after making an
appointment by telephone or internet.
