Education ‘Netherlands Police Academy trains students as objectively excellent criminal investigators’ Written on Thursday, January 30, 2025 Yesterday a new batch of students embarked on their bachelor’s degree programme in criminal investigation at the Netherlands Police Academy. To enrol for the programme, these new police employees must already have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in another field. Over the coming three years they will be trained as professional criminal investigators. In the foundation year, the students receive an introduction to the basic knowledge and skills needed as a police professional. After that, we introduce them broadly to the specialist field of criminal investigations. They learn how an investigation works, for example, and how you draw up investigation plans and conduct security analyses. More information about the degree programme can be found (in Dutch) on the web pages about the ‘Bachelor Rechercheur’. The Police Academy and the police organisation are continuously in discussion about the design of this and other degree programmes. And also about how many specially trained criminal investigators are needed. ‘We supply to meet their demand. What we see is that the students enjoy their studies, and that they function well in policing practice’, comments Kathelijne van Kammen, Deputy Director of the Netherlands Police Academy. More people needed for criminal investigations Yet the police in Amsterdam and Rotterdam have indicated that they need more capacity for their criminal investigations departments. So they’re busy recruiting and training people themselves. What’s your view of this? Kathelijne van Kammen: ‘We know more people are needed for criminal investigations. And we realise that besides positions for criminal investigators there are many other tasks involved in investigations departments – like legal support, for instance, or data analysis. So we get it that people come up with pragmatic solutions to get extra staff quickly. At the Police Academy, we’re doing our utmost to train up enough people to become good criminal investigators. The police diploma they obtain gives society the assurance that these criminal investigators are properly equipped for their work. They have all the knowledge, insight, and skills they need, and all the associated powers. Moreover, for graduates this qualification serves as the basis for a career in criminal investigations.’ Not easy to find well-qualified lecturers But is the Police Academy training too few people? Van Kammen: ‘I fully understand that people want more. But we are dependent on the space the Police Academy is given for this. The number of students we train is decided by the police, in close consultation with us. We have regular discussions about how many people are needed for policing practice. But also about what areas need to be addressed in the trainng. And what requirements the students (the police officers of tomorrow) will need to meet. Once we know how great the demand will be in the coming years, it will also be clearer how many lecturers we need. Incidentally, in the current market it is not at all easy to find well-qualified lecturers at the right time. And that’s a very major factor in determining how many students we can train.’