Fully revised version of Handboek Politie

The Handboek Politie (“Police handbook”) is the ultimate reference guide to current police practice. This book has recently been fully revised and was presented at Leiden University on Wednesday 25 September 2024. Its subtitle is ‘organisation and functioning of the Police in the Netherlands’. Nicolien Kop is Lecturer in Crime Management and Criminal Investigation at the Netherlands Police Academy. She works for the Centre of Knowledge for Crime Control, Intelligence and Criminal Investigations, wrote three chapters of the book and is one of its three editors. ‘It was quite a job to revise the book in its entirety, but I’m very happy with the result!’

The book presentation attracted an audience that consisted mainly of police officers, students, and scholars. They were updated about a selection of the topics addressed in the book, such as forensic investigations and international cooperation. Leonard Kok, Director of the Netherlands Police Academy, was among the speakers. ‘Just based on the quality of the authors, I would have already given the book a five-star review before I had even read it’, he said. ‘It makes sense to publish a new edition now. The police organisation in the Netherlands and Dutch society at large have changed so much that it was about time. It has truly become a handbook that’s worth reading, although I must say it’s a pity that the fourth edition does not contain a chapter on police training. This book will certainly make its way into police training and the Netherlands Police Academy’.

Much-needed revision

The previous version of the handbook dated back to 2014. Nicolien Kop: ‘It was indeed about time the book was modernised. Technological developments in forensic investigations, for instance, are happening so fast. Or look at how police officers are now dealing with people with mental health needs or how we collaborate with citizens in investigations. All that has changed compared to ten years ago. With the new version of the book, we aimed to adjust and update such aspects’. Together with Edwin Muller (Leiden University) and Edward van der Torre (independent researcher), Kop was responsible for editing this reference work.

A variety of authors

Kop and her colleagues invited various authors to contribute to the book. In the end, 37 did so. Among them are researchers, lecturers, police officers and public servants, working for a wide range of organisations. For example, the Netherlands Police Academy, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service and consultancy firms, but also the Netherlands Forensic Institute, municipalities and universities. Several Netherlands Police Academy lecturers contributed to the book, including Guus Meershoek, Christianne de Poot and Jurjen Jansen. Kop: ‘By bringing together all this knowledge and expertise, the handbook is now fully up to date again.’

Police practice

The book consists of four parts. Part 1 addresses the police system, part 2 is about policing and its practical implementation. Part 3 deals with organisation and leadership within the police force, while the fourth and final part discusses the relationship between the police and society. All parts include sections on police practice. The authors tried to apply their academic findings to police practice as much as possible. 

Kop: ‘We hope that the handbook will become a frequently used resource for students at universities, universities of applied sciences and the Netherlands Police Academy. It’s wonderful that the PDF version of the book is already available through the multimedia library of the Netherlands Police Academy.’

Response

The presentations certainly made Marcel Groeneveld, police officer from the The Hague Police Unit, curious about the book. ‘I’m interested in what the authors have to say, and want to learn more about how scholars view the different aspects of policing. I think this book will come in handy in my everyday work.’

After the presentation, Leonard Kok spoke with a number of students, and he liked what he heard. ‘During the meeting, I could certainly feel a positive vibe among many of the students towards being involved in the police organisation and police work. I also felt that they are willing to contribute to good policing, which bodes well for the future!’