When the media report on police violence, they often write: “the police are investigating the use of force.” It is important for journalists to ask follow-up questions about how the police intend to assess that use of force. There are several different procedures:
1) Assessment by the Use of Force Review Committee
This is an internal police committee that also includes one civilian member. The committee is not independent. The outcome of its assessment is whether the use of force was professional, not whether it was lawful. The purpose of this procedure is to learn from incidents involving force; it does not lead to criminal penalties or disciplinary sanctions. The police do not provide feedback on the outcome of these assessments in individual cases to the citizens who were subjected to the use of force.
2) Disciplinary Assessment by the Internal Investigations Department (VIK)
This is an internal police investigative unit. The outcome of its assessment is whether the use of force constitutes misconduct. If so, the officer may receive a disciplinary sanction. In 2025, 15 officers received a disciplinary sanction for their use of force, out of a total of 39,000 uses of force. The police do not provide feedback on the outcome of disciplinary assessments to the citizens who were subjected to the use of force.
3) Criminal Investigation
A criminal investigation may result from a complaint concerning the use of force or from a case referred by the police to the Public Prosecution Service (OM). These investigations are conducted under the authority of the Public Prosecution Service. Each year, the Public Prosecution Service oversees approximately 30 investigations carried out by the National Criminal Investigation Department (Rijksrecherche). All other investigations are conducted by the police themselves. In practice, the police conduct all investigations in cases that do not involve a death or very serious injury. This means that when citizens file a complaint regarding police use of force, the police themselves conduct the criminal investigation, after which the Public Prosecution Service decides whether to prosecute. Each year, between two and five police officers are brought before a court because of their use of force.
When the media write or say that the police are “investigating” the use of force without specifying which form of review is taking place, readers miss crucial information. Most readers are likely to assume that an investigation is intended to determine whether an officer should face punishment. In reality, this is often not the case: when the police use the term “investigation,” they are usually referring to a review by the Use of Force Review Committee rather than a disciplinary or criminal investigation. In such cases, the review is also conducted by a non-independent body, and no feedback is provided to the affected citizen. By simply repeating what the police say (“we are going to investigate it”), media outlets reproduce a police statement without providing the necessary context or explanation.
For more information and background, see:https://www.njb.nl/media/y1hoshik/jair-schalkwijk-the-assessment-of-police-violence-in-the-netherlands-translated.pdf