News item | 17-12-2024 | 17:14
No fewer than 45% of all decentralized political office holders such as mayors, members of Parliament, councilors and water board directors experienced aggression in the past year. For civil servants this was 29%. It is worrying that incidents are increasingly focused on the individual and that office holders increasingly experience this as serious. This is evident from the Integrity & Security Monitor 2024, which was carried out by Ipsos I&O and sent to the House of Representatives today by Minister Judith Uitermark of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK).
Judith Uitermark: “These figures are and remain worrying. Political office holders increasingly experience these incidents as serious. The impact is great and affects not only the person themselves, but often also the people around them. I also hear this when I talk to office holders about this. As Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, I want to turn the tide: with, among other things, a support package to dampen the impact of online hate, strengthening and encouraging knowledge sharing between governments, the police and the Public Prosecution Service and by making smaller municipalities resilient to improper external pressure. .
In addition, it is important that we continue to speak out from society as a whole. We should never consider aggression and intimidation towards people working in public administration to be normal. It is important to continue to promote this and encourage them to always report incidents and report them where possible. This way, follow-up can be given. I support our political office holders, they are the face of our democratic constitutional state. They must be able to do that work safely.”
Effects of aggression and intimidation
Since 2010, the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations has been investigating the extent to which political office holders are confronted with aggression. Compared to two years ago, the serious forms of aggression, such as threats, physical aggression and intimidation, have remained the same. However, there has been a slight decrease in the number of political office holders and civil servants who were confronted with verbal aggression. Political office holders indicate that these incidents have a major impact on them. This concerns, for example, less job satisfaction, people who dare to speak out less (online) and the way in which the work is done.
Discuss, report, register and report
Nearly 90% of decentralized political office holders and civil servants who were confronted with an incident discussed or reported it internally. Reports were filed in only 6% of cases. The incidents were also often not registered by the organization. It is therefore important that the Municipal Incident Registration System (GIR) is made more user-friendly and that such a system becomes available to provinces. Minister Uitermark: “This makes reporting incidents easier. Hopefully this will ensure that more cases are reported.” We also work on awareness sessions with the Resilient Management Support Team. To date, this has been used by 240 municipalities and all provinces. From 2025, this will be expanded to all water boards.
Aggression is mostly expressed online and more often directed at people
The monitor also shows that aggression and intimidation are increasingly taking place online. Moreover, aggression is more often directed at the person himself or herself rather than the political office holder as a representative of the government or group to which he or she belongs. This form of aggression is more often experienced as serious and is more common in women than in men. Local governments are struggling to find the right approach for this. That is why the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations will soon offer an online hate support package. This package contains, among other things, a step-by-step plan on how to deal with online hatred against decentralized political office holders.
Integrity negotiable
The Integrity and Security Monitor 2024 shows that there is structurally more attention to integrity within local authorities, where previously it was more linked to current issues and incidents. At the same time, the monitor shows that almost four in ten political office holders witnessed or thought they witnessed unethical behavior by fellow office holders. Although this percentage is lower than in 2022, it does show that continued attention to integrity is necessary. That is why a bill is being prepared that will make it mandatory to carry out an integrity risk analysis before aldermen, commissioners and executive board members of the water board are appointed. If there is a suspicion of an integrity violation, a careful process is in the interest of all involved. To support local authorities in this regard, a guideline has been developed for dealing with (suspected) integrity violations.
Integrity and Security Monitor 2024
TK Letter to Parliament Offer and policy response to Integrity and Security Monitor 2024