Education Arms training at the Netherlands Police Academy: ‘We can really make a difference’ Written on Tuesday, December 10, 2024 The subject of arms is a unique field. Specialist knowledge on legal and illegal arms and munition is necessary to properly conduct criminal investigations: There are so many different types of arms, so many different ways they all work, and so many laws and regulations. How can we train police officers and criminal investigators to handle all this? And how can the police organisation keep up with new developments? We posed this question to Mark Boy and Rik Oude Egberink, who both work in the Arms and Drugs section of the Netherlands Police Academy’s Thematic Investigations Team. ‘Arms are destructive, create huge chaos, and are part of undermining crime. So it’s up to us to make a difference by providing quality education that’s closely combined with policing in practice’, says Oude Egberink. We are experimenting with making education less time- and location-dependent. Boy: ‘That way, students are better able to manage their time. We need to make sure that students are only called away from their police units to complete their training as often as is absolutely necessary, as their absence negatively impacts the operational strength in their police units.’ Training programmes In foundational police training, the focus lies on the legislation relating to arms and munition. The professional specialisation programmes offer more in-depth training. The programme Arms Categorisation and Description teaches students to categorise and describe arms and to list the associated risks. It also includes how to properly describe arms in legal terms in official reports. In the programme Investigating Illegal Arms, the focus is on tackling the trafficking and use of illegal firearms. Boy: ‘Our aim is for our educational programmes to serve over 200 students per year. Together with our partners in the field, like the Public Prosecution Service and the Weapons, Munition and Explosives department (WME), we critically monitor our programmes, and the demands and wishes for training in the future.’ Arms investigations Within Forensic Investigations, the Weapons, Munition and Explosives department is involved in investigating and describing firearms. They often do this is cooperation with the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI). Their work is very important to the Netherlands Police, and to the Public Prosecution Service who need their knowledge to gather evidence for criminal proceedings. The Police Equipment department (PU) ensures that all firearms seized are processed and destroyed. Some of these firearms are sent to the Police Academy for training purposes. ‘This way, we immediately get to see the arms that are found most in practice, and we can then incorporate this knowledge into our training. This ensures that our programmes are closely aligned with policing practice’, says Boy. Expertise days There are regular expertise days within the Netherlands Police, during which specialists from the various Police Units come together. The Netherlands Police Academy also participates in these days. ‘At these days we also see a great interplay between theoretical knowledge and daily policing practice’, says Boy. It touches on one of his personal drives. ‘I want to see fewer issues involving arms. I want to do my bit by sharing knowledge and new developments on arms with police colleagues, so they have sufficient tools to at least keep arms trafficking under control.’ Recently, documentary maker Sinan Can was invited as a speaker to an expertise day. Can examined the arms trafficking scene in his three-part documentary series ‘De Wapenroute’ (the arms route). Arms legislation Arms trafficking is a widespread and global phenomenon. It is very important that countries work together in combatting it. Fortunately, the Netherlands’ arms legislation is among the strictest in the European Union. But the fact that each country has its own arms legislation does make it more difficult to fight arms trafficking effectively. Boy: ‘Gas pistols, for example, are freely available in Germany. Under Dutch law, however, they are classed as firearms and therefore forbidden. And alarm guns are easily obtainable in Belgium. Criminals buy these and subsequently convert them to firearms. Regular people can’t distinguish between firearms and converted firearms, but professionals trained in this can.’ Increase Nowadays, we still come across firearms from Yugoslavia that were used during the civil war in the 90s. ‘The same will likely happen after the war in Ukraine’, Oude Egberink predicts. Furthermore, we see an increase in the number of converted firearms, and rapid developments in the 3D-printing of arms. ‘This means we will have to deal with an increase in the number of arms’, he says. ‘It’s up to us to keep track of the developments. We also need to consider how best to intervene. Should the police hold back for a while, or arrest people immediately? And should they act in a national or an international framework? What you really want is to reduce the opportunities for committing crimes. Education can help realise this. I truly believe that, together with policing in practice, we at the Netherlands Police Academy can really make a difference in this regard.’