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Fighting organized crime in the Netherlands

Located in North-West Europe with a long coastline on the North Sea, the Netherlands is a targeted source and transit country for crime groups smuggling illicit merchandise into or from European markets.

The country’s main transnational crime challenges include drug trafficking (particularly synthetic drugs), cybercrime, and the threat from international terrorism.

The international characteristics of these crimes and their links with crime networks around the world make the role of the INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB) in the Netherlands fundamental to maintaining national and regional security.

INTERPOL in the Netherlands

Situated in The Hague, NCB Netherlands plays a central role in preventing the country and surrounding region from serving international organized crime. By providing globally-sourced intelligence about regional crime trends, the NCB helps police officers across the Netherlands to detect and investigate the flow of illicit goods along trafficking routes in and around the country.

The NCB, referred to by Dutch Police as ‘the INTERPOL Desk’, is part of the Central Intelligence Division which is responsible for international police cooperation. It operates as the national point of contact for law enforcement agencies requiring help in international investigations involving the Netherlands. It is staffed by 15 officers.

The NCB plays a strong national role in tackling the serious crime areas which affect the country most, as well as crimes against children, fugitive investigations, financial crime and trafficking in human beings. It is a regular partner in INTERPOL-led global police operations in these crime areas.

Law enforcement in the Netherlands

Law enforcement services in the Netherlands are the responsibility of the Ministry of Security and Justice.  The national police force - called ‘Politie’ in Dutch - is made up of 10 regional units, a central unit, a Police Academy, and a police service centre for business operations. The Force Command, which serves as national headquarters, develops policy and makes strategic decisions at national level.

Politie’s central unit is headed by a Chief Constable. It performs both independent and support tasks and is responsible for cross-regional and specialist police activities.

Each regional unit is operationally self-sufficient and is geographically sub-divided into a number of police districts made up of precincts, referred to as ‘Robust Frontline Teams’, which serve the municipality or several small municipalities.

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