Training municipal enforcement officers to pre-empt criminal behaviour

Maintaining a safe city for our residents is a top priority. This initiative unlocks extra capacity by training municipal enforcement officers on a new methodology that helps them detect and react to suspicious behaviour.

As a city with an international reputation of peace and justice, The Hague is committed to offering a secure environment for its residents and visitors. Multiple public and private partners contribute to this goal by preventing or reacting to crime and other forms of malicious behaviour.

One of the approaches to identify potentially criminal intentions is behavioural profiling. This is a methodology intended to help law enforcement officers to accurately detect abnormal behaviours and potential criminal subjects and take pre-emptive action.

In 2018 The Netherlands saw an example of how suspects can be identified through suspicious patterns of behaviour. A man who stabbed two American tourists in Amsterdam Central station was stopped by police just nine seconds after he launched his attack. One of the reasons for this quick intervention was that a few minutes after the suspect arrived at the train station his abnormal behaviour had come to the attention of a police officer trained to spot pickpockets and people potentially planning to undertake extremist acts.

Behavioural profiling techniques can be used by the police but also by private security firms, public transport personnel and municipal enforcement officers. Training multiple sectors facilitates cooperation between various stakeholders. In 2018, several teams from The Hague Police Unit undertook training on behavioural profiling. Co-financed by RTH, this programme will be expanded to include municipal enforcement officers.

Lead:
City of The Hague: Department of Public Order and Safety, RTH

Partners: 
A training provider will be selected through a procurement process.

When and how?
The training starts in 2019