Social internship programme for new police officers (Culturele Wasstraat)
An innovative programme that helps police officers build relationships with their community.
Police officers can be more effective when they have trusted relationships with the people in the districts where they work. However, good relations do not come naturally. Police work often revolves around law enforcement and responding to emergencies and by itself is not enough to connect the police to The Hague society.
The Hague police has increased their efforts to improve their relationship with the public. A successful example is the social internship programme for new police officers in the City Centre District. Run by The Hague Police Unit, the programme offers new police officers the opportunity to undertake a two week introduction programme within the local community.
This includes introductory meetings with schools, religious organisations, youth groups, mental health services, and a range of other social services. This approach enables the police officers to have a greater contextual understanding of their district while winning trust from the community. In 2017, the Social Internship programme was awarded with a prize for the best police project in the Netherlands.
Lead:
The Hague Police Unit, City Center district
