The police is too white, acknowledges the chief of police, Akerboom – NOS

police Chief Erik Akerboom, the National Police acknowledges that there is a lack of cultural diversity is to the police. Police commissioner Max Daniel, said this morning in an interview with the Volkskrant that the police support will lose in the society if there are not more people with a multicultural background, be adopted.

“Many police officers will recognize what Daniel says. And that is also true for me,” says Akerboom on NPO Radio 1. “The police force is too white. In the society, there is a lot going on. Major cities are changing rapidly and we are changing as the police are insufficient.”

According to Akerboom, it is important that there is more diversity in the police force. Police officers with different backgrounds to hear more, and understand better what is happening in the neighborhoods is happening, ” he says.

Acceptance

Daniel says in the Volkskrant that the police officers with a multicultural background, no longer feel accepted by colleagues. Former commissioner Martin Sitalsing recognize that feeling. He is of Surinamese descent and left in 2012 when the police, in part due to the lack of potential.

Therefore, there must be more people with a different cultural background in the politietop come, Sitalsing. “If you people want to keep and creating job mobility, it is also very important to be recognisable in the top of the organization.”

Influx

police Chief Akerboom says that the lack of diversity and career opportunities, not from one day to the other to change, but that it gradually goes better.

in the Past the influx of police officers with a biculturele background layer, but now one in five.

“The trick is to keep them and grow”, says Akerboom. “But quality is always central. No colleague wants to be appointed because of his background. The colleagues will want to be appointed because of their quality.”

Also minister Block of Justice stresses that the inflow at the academy already, what more diverse, but that this still can be improved. “We need all the groups to find,” said Block.

Akerboom says its best to go to the politietop less white to get. “At each appointment, we will ask ourselves: is there a diverse talent that we have here to good use? We will also talent spot, to give them extra assistance.”

Discrimination

There is according to Akerboom further arranged and discrimination within the police, for example, in the form of “wrong jokes”.

Daniel mentions in the interview with the newspaper the more extreme examples of discrimination within the corps. He tells us about a Moroccan police officer during a house search was held. “They ran through the house and suddenly there was called: hey, there is another one. In handcuffs, she was removed. Just a detective who investigates.”

Discrimination is difficult to address, because police officers are not fast appeal, says Akerboom. Still, he does his best to be here to change that. Also there can be more diversity to play a role.

“The conversation about this kind of complicated things with a more diverse corps is easier to implement,” says Akerboom about discrimination in the society. “It is different when you, for example, with a mixed corps in a colored ward, then with a white corps as is now the case.”