The police in the Netherlands are going through a tough time due to a budget deficit of 157 million euros. But that’s not all: the deficit is expected to increase, and more cuts will be made in the future. 💸
In August 2021, the police stated that a cut of around 30 and 70 million euros would be made. However, according to a report by AD, the budget will be exceeded by much more than that.
Where is the money going?
The deficit comes about after extra investments were made in cybersecurity, personnel care, and the cleaning of drug labs.
In June, the Dutch police created a special task force to make the budget cuts. This task force reported that the police “lacked financial discipline” (yikes!).
Bad timing
This is a bad time for the police to experience budget cuts, especially in light of the murder of Peter R. de Vries, the Netherlands’ most famous crime journalist.
Attje Kuiken, an MP from The Labour Party (PvdA), says that “after the murder of Derk Wiersum and Peter R. De Vries, extra investments will be needed in the fight against organized crime.”
The chairman of the Dutch Police Union (NPB), Jan Struijs, agrees that “this is a particularly bad time not to have the finances in order. Safety is completely on sale.”
Cabinet to the rescue!
The cabinet will allocate an extra 400 million to the fight against organised crime and corruption. A large majority of the House of Representatives called for a higher budget as a response to the murder of Peter R. de Vries.
This decision will be announced on Budget Day (Prinsjesdag), which takes place every year on the third Tuesday of September.
What do you think of the budget cuts? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Feature Image: Joeppoulssen/Depositphotos
