The four police unions are going to file an official complaint with the Labor Inspectorate because of ‘the C2000 communication system that has been faltering for years’. The AD reports this on Wednesday. The communication system also went wrong during the police manhunt for three armed robbers in Rijsbergen last week. Dozens of police people did not know what to do during the pursuit of the three who drove criss-cross through West Brabant.
During large and dangerous operations, the lives of police officers are unnecessarily endangered by the malfunctioning communication system. That write the police unions in a letter to Chief of Police Henk van Essen and Security Minister DilanYesilgöz.
The police force management and the Ministry of Security and Justice have been aware of these problems for some time, but have not intervened, according to the unions.
Maarten Brink, spokesperson for the four police unions, said earlier this week that police officers in Rijsbergen were in danger due to the failure to communicate.
“They must be able to communicate with each other and the control room via the walkie-talkie. Crucial messages were lost, for example about the position of the suspects. In addition, officers could not let each other know what they saw or where they were,” Brink described the situation in Rijsbergen.
“Those messages have vanished into thin air,” he said. “That can lead to dangerous situations. If you walk into a dark alley while combing the neighborhood, you want to report it to your colleagues. Or a suspect suddenly appears, who may be armed. Then fill in yourself what is can happen.”
READ ALSO: Manhunt for robbers: ‘Agents were in danger due to failing communication’