POLICE ORGANIZATION IN THE NETHERLANDS
Keywords:
police organization, the Netherlands, local self-government, safety regionsAbstract
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show, through the organization of the police in the Netherlands, how the modern police force and organization are functioning in accordance with modern standards. In addition, through the example of the Dutch police, the transformation of the police structure is shown not only in the area of crime but also in other phenomena in which the role of the police is important, such as emergency situations. An additional purpose of this paper is the presentation of the development of the police structure in accordance with the needs of citizens and modern democratic standards.
Design/Methods/Approach: In the paper, the deductive-inductive method was first used in order to understand the development and structure of the police in the Netherlands. In accordance with that, the use of the analytical method in the paper served to provide insight into the transformations of its individual parts. This particularly applies to the management structure. The research went from the key premises on which the organization and functioning of the Dutch Police are based to the implementation of police powers in the field.
Findings: The paper helps to better understand how modern police should be structured and organized in a way that corresponds with the political system, public administration, and local self-government in one country. The effectiveness of the police structure rests on constant transformation in accordance with changes in society as well as the needs of citizens. New threats in the field of crime, which often have an international character, affect the expansion of police competences in order to preserve the safety of citizens, society, and the state. Threats not related to crime, such as emergency situations, force authorities to expand and modernize the structure and functioning of the police. In democratic societies, the aforementioned changes are carried out by competent institutions in accordance with democratic procedures.
Originality/Value: The police organization in the Netherlands has some specifics and characteristics that distinguish it from other countries in the European Union. Those specificities will be analyzed through the main features of the security regions established in the Netherlands. Security regions open up new opportunities for the more efficient functioning of the police system. In the paper, these possibilities will also be shown, which should contribute to the understanding of certain contemporary trends in the development of the police organization.
Keywords: police organization, the Netherlands, local self-government, safety regions.
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