National Police Corps (Netherlands)
The National Police Corps, known colloquially in English as the Dutch National Police or the National Police Force, is the centralised, national law enforcement agency of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and its sole police force. Constituted under the provisions of the Police Act 2012, the Corps functions as a single and unified police organisation operating under the political authority of the Minister of Justice and Security.
The National Police Corps is charged with the maintenance of public order, the enforcement of criminal law, the investigation and prevention of crime, and the provision of assistance in emergencies. It possesses general competence over the entire territory of the Netherlands and is vested with both administrative and judicial police powers.
It is divided in ten regional units, two national units, the police academy, police services center, and national dispatch center cooperation. The law-enforcement purposes of these agencies are the investigation of suspected criminal activity, referral of the results of investigations to the courts, and the temporary detention of suspected criminals pending judicial action. Law enforcement agencies, to varying degrees at different levels of government and in different agencies, are also commonly charged with the responsibilities of deterring criminal activity and preventing the successful commission of crimes in progress. The police commissioner in the Netherlands is Janny Knol since March 1, 2024.
Besides police officers, the Netherlands has about 23,500 peace officers. These officers have a Special Enforcement Officer status or BOA/Handhaving in Dutch and therefore have police powers. They can be found within the transport police, game wardens and local enforcement agencies. The majority of BOA officers have the authority to carry and use handcuffs which can only be issued to officers who have the power to use force. A few councils also issue their officers, with permission from the Ministry of Justice and Security, police batons, pepper spray and occasionally firearms.
Their task depends on their area of operation. A game warden enforces nature laws, while a local enforcement officer enforces local ordinances and municipal code infractions. In 2018 unions were concerned with the increase of violence against these officers and had decided to make the consideration towards whether they would equip all these officers with the less-lethal weapons, batons and pepper spray, or make them part of the national police force.
History
The Dutch National Police has a long and diverse history, having undertaken many major reforms in its history, the latest being in 2012 with the introduction of one police force. Below, you will find a timeline of the Dutch National Police's history.1581–1812
The Dutch Police history starts in 1581, with the formation of the Dutch Republic. A simple police organization was created without clear tasks and powers. This stayed the same until 1810, when Napoleon annexed the Netherlands to the French Empire and started to set up a police force according to similar reforms elsewhere. Cities could free up money for a schout ; for towns this was a Veldwachter.1813–1939
The Netherlands regained its independence in 1813 and a year later King William I established the Corps de Marechaussee. The corps had twelve hundred employees and was a branch of the armed forces. It performs military tasks for the armed forces and non-military tasks for the Rijkspolitie. In 1858, in addition to the Marechaussee, the Korps Rijksveldwacht was created with fourteen hundred employees. This force focused on public order in rural areas. In addition to the two corps, there was also a Gemeentepolitie with eleven thousand employees, Politietroepen with sixteen hundred employees, and the Gemeenteveldwacht.1940–1993
During the Second World War there was a Reichskommissar fur die Niederlande, Arthur Seyss-Inquart. The entire police force numbered about twenty thousand employees. After the war, this service is disbanded. To restore and control public order, the government decided to set up a new police organization in November 1945. A distinction was made between the Gemeentepolitie for designated municipalities, and the Rijkspolitie for the rest of the country.1994–Present
The split disappeared in 1994, when the Police Act of 1993 took effect. After a major reorganization, the Rijkspolitie and Gemeentepolite were merged into 25 Regiokorpsen and the Korps Landelijke Politiediensten. Each corps worked autonomously. This structure lasted until January 1, 2013. From that day on, the police have been one organization, the Korps Nationale Politie, divided into ten Regionale Eenheden, a Landelijke Eenheid, a Politieacademie, and the Politiedienstencentrum that handles personnel. From then on, one Commissioner of police has directed police in the Netherlands. Since then, the police have started a new temporary branch for a joint dispatch center transition to one national system, known as the Landelijke Meldkamer Samenwerking, and also split the Landelijke Eenheid into two national units on January 1, 2024, one for expertise and operations, and one for investigation and interventions. The split was due to the unit being too big and diverse in its tasks for employees to progress, additionally the large spread of tasks made some services not get along, creating a negative work environment, the Schneiders Committee reported this decision because it would create clear separation and space to focus on specialized tasks.Organization
In 2013 the police in the Netherlands was reorganized into its current structure with only minor changes since. The structure contains ten regional units, two national units, the police academy, the police services center, and the national dispatch center cooperation, all under one national police. Additionally, the police leadership has a small council and staff. Below, you find a list of all the units in detail.Regional Units
The Netherlands is geographically divided by ten regional police units. These ten regional units are equal to the ten districts of the Public Prosecutors Office and courts. Each regional unit is divided in other layers of leadership and responsibilities, as described below.| Unit | Service area |
| Noord-Nederland | Provinces of Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe |
| Oost-Nederland | Provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel |
| Midden-Nederland | Provinces of Utrecht and Flevoland |
| Noord-Holland | Province of Noord-Holland, except for Amsterdam |
| Amsterdam | City of Amsterdam |
| Den Haag | Province of Zuid-Holland, around the city of The Hague |
| Rotterdam | Province of Zuid-Holland, around the city of Rotterdam |
| Zeeland West-Brabant | Province of Zeeland, western part of the province of Noord-Brabant |
| Oost-Brabant | Eastern part of the province of Noord-Brabant |
| Limburg | Province of Limburg |
Jurisdiction
Employees of regional units that hold law enforcement authority have jurisdiction across the entire country.Tasks at regional level
At the administrative level of the regional unit, some of the following tasks are executed;- Public affairs
- Internal Affairs
- Forensics investigation
- Criminal investigations that are too large or complicated for districts, like organized crime, homicides or district crossing investigations
- Prisoner transport and court police
- Police dispatch
- Traffic police
- Riot control
- Police dog handlers
Districts
Tasks at a district level
- Criminal investigations of crimes that are too large of complex for the Basisteams
- Flexteams that provide temporary support to the Basisteams
- District intelligence units
Basisteams
Tasks at the Basisteam level
- Patrol and incident response
- Community policing
- Public order at events and nightlife
- Criminal investigation for 'common crimes' such as shoplifting, other small thefts, assault and domestic violence
National Unit Expertise & Operations (LX)