How can we spend more time in the neighbourhood? Some practical steps that really work

The police have long had the desire to be more active in the community and local neighbourhoods. But why is it so complicated? Is there too little time? Is the police organisation trapped in fixed patterns? Or is it good leadership that’s lacking?

All these questions are on the agenda for the Police Debate at the Netherlands Police Academy’s Apeldoorn campus on 20 February. In the run-up to the debate, we posed some of the question to Ingrid van der Veeken, Head of Team Midden-Schieland, Rotterdam Unit. She is very much in favour of neighbourhood-based policing.

Do you think it will be possible to free up more time for a neighbourhood-based approach?

‘In my experience there is definitely time for neighbourhood-based policing. I view it as part of my role as team head to free up community police officers for such tasks. And to encourage them to hit the streets. Because it is so important to have and maintain a connection with local residents. And you have to earn your credentials: the more you’re around, the more you’re visible, the more people will trust you and the more often they will report things to you.' 

'And what’s more: 48 percent of emergency police officers’ time is deliberately kept free for this kind of work. Which means that community police officers who have not been called out to an incident don’t have administrative tasks to attend to or traffic checks to run, for instance. So that’s all time that can be put to good use – like for checking in on that person you assisted during a call yesterday, who warrants further care.’

What else can we do to free up more time for neighbourhood-based policing?

‘There’s no universal remedy, but there are some practical steps we can try out in the neighbourhoods we’re responsible for. For a start, I think we can organise processes better. Take a police report, for instance: it’s really not necessary for several police officers to check each report. In my view, the first version of the report should be good straight away, and nobody should need to check it. Then the officer who draws up the report will themselves make sure the quality of the report improves.' 

'As team heads, we strengthen our officers’ ties with the neighbourhood and the local community as much as possible by assigning them a specific focus area. Like the focus area ‘young people’, for instance – in that case your job for today might be to carry out a neighbourhood investigation by initiating a meaningful conversation with a young person.'

'And yes, I start from a basis of trust: you can do this, and I trust that you will do it well. If you can’t do it, come and tell me and I’ll help you.’ 

Can emergency assistance and neighbourhood policing be combined?

‘Definitely. As I said before, if we don’t have strong connections with the community, we won’t get any calls. So we need to invest in contact with local residents. It’s a matter of feeling your way and working out how to get people to engage with you. But even just ‘Hello, and how are you today?’ is already a good start.'

'Recently, when we were giving a talk at a primary school one of the children told us her father had put a weapon in her rucksack. ‘Is that allowed?’, she asked. If that happens in your neighbourhood, you know there are people there who feel trapped. And that you have to and want to do something about it.’

Can police officers take a more proactive approach in responding to calls from their neighbourhood?

‘If police officers have more information about the neighbourhood, that’s certainly a possibility. We had a case of a car rental company that turned out to be supplying cars to criminals. Whenever police officers stopped a car, they checked who the registered owner was. And if it turned out to belong to this car rental company, my officers made detailed records in the police systems.'

'Combining all this information enabled us to put together a case of criminal undermining, and after a couple of months we were able to wind up the whole company. Everyone was happy to be involved in this effort, because ultimately everyone wants to contribute to catching a criminal – whether you’re an emergency assistance officer or a community police officer.’

Can you put more focus on neighbourhood-based policing if there’s more steering in that direction from the team’s Operational Commander (OPCO) and the Operation Expert (OE)?

‘I’m more into persuading than steering. Of course you also need a clear structure, with the OPCO talking through the plan for the shift with the officers, adjusting the plan where necessary. The OPCO can explicitly instruct officers to seek connection with local residents after an incident has taken place.'

'It takes a lot of soft skills on the part of the OPCO to make sure the instructions are carried out successfully. So it’s a mixture of practical frontline policing skills and deploying your officers proactively.’ 

Can special enforcement officers (BOAs) take over some of the police’s neighbourhood-based work?

‘That would certainly be possible for issues relating to ensuring the neighbourhood is a pleasant place to live. BOAs are authorised to issue tickets and carry out arrests – as long as they’re fully trained, of course. If it’s a matter of more complex issues, like addiction, violence, or victimisation, a police officer will be brought in. Ideally the BOAs would also be present at the briefing – then they’ll be fully informed about what’s going on in the neighbourhood.' 

'Another approach that strikes me as promising is strengthening the position of the Neighbourhood Operational Expert. It would be great if this officer could make a neighbourhood plan for the frontline policing team – on the basis of signals picked up by the community police officers, of course. In this way, police officers could combine emergency assistance and neighbourhood-based community policing. The Police Academy could provide the necessary training.’