Based on 2024 figures from the Dutch police, RTL Nieuws has determined that law enforcement in over 300 municipalities was unable to meet targets for emergency response times.
The national target set by the police is to arrive within 15 minutes in 90 percent of emergencies. In 2024, only 35 of the 342 municipalities met this standard. Only 83,7 percent of cases saw the police arrive within the set time, leading to the slowest response times seen in at least 10 years, according to RTL Nieuws.
Police in 307 municipalities were also unable to meet their own regional targets. Ambulances and fire brigades are also struggling to arrive at scenes in the narrow time window. While the number of late arrivals among the fire department is decreasing, ambulances are increasingly late, arriving outside the 15-minute target 9,3 percent of the time (5 percent or under is the goal).
Even though some of the slowest response times have been measured, the police are “satisfied” with the results. With the current worker shortage in the Netherlands and the rise in emergency reports related to traffic and violence, law enforcement often has to prioritise different situations. "Emergency aid is still a priority. It is the first pot to be filled, but staff can only be in one place at a time," said spokesman David Howes-Smith.
Rural and expansive areas also have slower response times due to the presence of rivers, bridges and railways. Therefore, the police believe discussions need to take place about improvements at a local level, but emphasise that trying to stick to strict time targets could have a domino effect on other police work.
"We could choose to deploy a lot of extra capacity for emergency aid, purely to achieve our objectives, but that will always be at the expense of something else. We also want to deploy the police to prevent calamities," stated Chief of Police Janny Knol who has warned that people may have to wait longer for emergency services in the future. The NATO summit in June is a good example of this, as it requires the largest police operation in Dutch history and will be the priority during that time.
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