According to critical reports, the police reduced covert operations by half

In the last two years, Dutch police have carried out fewer than half as many undercover operations as usual. After the suicide of an officer and the subsequent critical reports, the police leadership decided to limit covert operations. The police are currently reforming their undercover department, reports De Telegraaf.

The undercover officer took his own life in 2021. The investigation into his situation revealed that there had been an accumulation of serious mistakes in the run-up to his suicide. Too often, undercover police officers were left to fend for themselves.

“We have decided that in order to properly implement all the recommendations, we have to start again,” Rob van Bree, head of the National Investigation and Intervention Unit, told Telegraaf.

Police temporarily reduced the unit to half and implemented security measures for all employees. Several operations continued, but the total number of undercover operations fell by half, Van Bree said. He called it painful but necessary for the safety of undercover police officers.

The new undercover team will launch on January 1st under the name Under Cover Team (UCT). However, it is unclear when the team will be able to operate at full strength again. The new team will focus more on police welfare, Van Bree said. Police also tightened undercover training at the police academy, imposed additional requirements for new undercover officers and limited the length of time police officers can work undercover to eight years.

Crime has also changed in recent decades and the new world of crime requires different operations with undercover agents who have specific knowledge, which is why the training has also been updated. said Van Bree. “It is no longer just drug cases, but also terrorism, money laundering, crypto cases, cyber cases, and we are also increasingly focusing on intermediaries of underworld bosses; the people around them,” Van Bree said. “This requires undercover investigators with very specific knowledge.”