Police Arrest 16,000 Cases Due to Shortage of Staff

Police have terminated thousands of investigations this year as the number of detectives available is insufficient. These are statements and criminal acts for which there is a high probability that the police will be able to resolve them because there are reference points such as traces. Until November, it concerned more than 16,000 cases, according to the figures requested by the NOS.

At present, the police process more than 40,000 cases. In addition, nearly 23,000 new cases are on the set. These include, for example, store robberies or violent incidents, for which there is currently no capacity. Things are waiting for the detectives available. Other issues may also be dealt with first. The police can not say for the moment how these figures were in previous years.

"We have to make choices every day," says Rob van den Broeke, district chief of the criminal investigation department. "If, for example, a shooting happens, we do not have time to talk about other things, in which case we stop things that we can temporarily stop, such as long-term drug-related crimes. "