A large proportion of the people who died in recent years after coming into contact with the police suffered from ‘multiple problems’ (82 percent) or exhibited ‘confused behaviour’ (84 percent). That appears from research by Bureau Beke commissioned by the police and the National Criminal Investigation Department. These include housing and living problems, psychological problems and drug or alcohol use. Almost half of the victims are men between the ages of 30 and 50 with a non-Western migration background. They often come from a lower socio-economic class.
The researchers of the consultancy studied fifty fatal police incidents from 2016 to 2020, the investigation of which had been completed by the National Criminal Investigation Department. They analyzed anonymized files of the National Criminal Investigation Department and spoke to family investigators, who maintain contact with relatives.
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The researchers do not provide a clear definition of the term confused behaviour, but establish a number of categories “so that it is clear which behaviors and indicators we classify as problem or confused behavior”. These categories include contact with social services, problematic substance use and behavioral and psychological problems. The question of whether the police acted lawfully in the 50 under investigation was not part of the investigation.
The study was conducted against the background of the public debate about police brutality. Henk Ferwerda, researcher and director of Bureau Beke, hopes the report will provide insights to learn lessons for the future“Hopefully these insights are the start of further steps towards early identification and safe handling of these major incidents for all involved.”