Popular police officer Eva from Groningen thought she was being fooled. ‘I really have the best job’

A post on Instagram about helping out for a day in the giveaway shop in the Oosterparkwijk. Playing the piano with a singing teacher, where she found not an intruder but a piano. accompanying Santa to the Sint Franciscus school, handing out stickers with a police emblem to children; typical reports of what policewoman Eva Dijkman experiences in her work in the neighborhood. She always ends her messages with the key words #local police officer #connection #oosterparkwijk #trots.

“I want to show that the work of a police officer is much more than catching criminals,” says Dijkman (40), who grew up in Appingedam, in a warm nest with an older brother and sister. She has been a local police officer in the Oosterpark district for five years now and that position is perfect for her. She prefers to walk or cycle through the neighborhood and likes to visit people. She regularly rings people’s doorbells with her lunch box under her arm. Whether she can eat her sandwiches with them.

You do this unannounced. Aren’t people shocked when an officer randomly rings the doorbell?

,,No. On the contrary. I explain why I come and I am always welcome. I can listen very well, hear stories and know what is going on in the neighborhood. Last week I was at the hairdresser. Very nice. I also regularly visit schools. This way, children learn that it is normal to have a quick chat with the police. I’m just Eva there.”

Sounds almost old-fashioned and village-like. On the other hand, you also manifest yourself through social media.

“Yes, I also want to be findable online. For many people it is just a little easier to make contact via a message. But after this first contact moment I always meet on site. I personally prefer face to face. I also use social media to show people fun aspects of the work. There is so much criticism of the police. While we do so much.

An example of how you, as a local police officer, connect with the neighborhood. Someone here had to serve a sentence. To prevent him from being picked up at home with traumatic experiences for the children, an agreement was made that he could report to me at the office. Shortly afterwards, a friend of his, who also had to sit, contacted him. Whether it could be the same with him. A third man joined us. So one morning three friends showed up on our doorstep, with a total of six bags. Nice is not it?”

Why did you start working for the police?

“I was young, the tension was there. But I didn’t come home with stories about big arrests, but about people. That soon made me want to become a local police officer. In my view, this position means that you are the contact person between the police and the neighborhood. But first I had to gain experience on the street, driving the car to reports. Moreover, there must be room available somewhere for a local police officer. That came five years ago in the Oosterpark district.”

Not the easiest neighborhood, right?

“A working-class neighborhood, but the bad image is somewhat outdated. The residents are no longer as unruly as before. It’s a beautiful neighborhood and people are straightforward. When the weather is nice, they sit in front of the house instead of in the backyard. And I often sit down with them. We need each other in the neighborhood and everyone is equal to me, whether it is the bank manager in the new building or the couple living on benefits with six children in a small pre-war house.

I do my work my way, I am really given the space to do so. What is fun and good for the people here? That is certainly not watching and performing from a distance. Working with people is where my strength lies. By listening to stories you can solve many of the problems in the neighborhood, such as mutual annoyances.

I mainly work on feeling. Sometimes I remove someone from a conflict situation without knowing exactly why. Then we’ll talk about it at the office, over a cup of coffee.

And recently I spoke to a man about his dog, about which there were complaints. He was furious and sent me away. I went because I couldn’t talk to him at that moment. A few days later he saw me walking. ‘Eef, do you have a moment?’ He apologized for his behavior. I can appreciate that. And he knows what to do with his dog. We need each other in the neighborhood.”

What are you most impressed by?

“More than eight years ago, a colleague and I received a report of ‘a child in acute respiratory distress’. It was a newborn girl. I had just become a mother myself. I felt what those parents were going through. Fortunately it turned out fine. Every year my colleague and I send her a card for her birthday.”

Thomas’s disappearance in December also had a major impact.

The 25-year-old Stadjer who went missing on December 15 after a Christmas drink at work. Friends and the police searched for him for days in the city. Were you involved in that?

“The report that he was gone came in during my weekend shift. I was in contact with his girlfriend. Then you think: What does she need in this situation? I gave her my telephone number, so that she could always reach a permanent person at the police. I was constantly working on it, the large-scale search, which received national publicity. We expected the worst and hope he is found soon. For the relatives, so that they can say goodbye.

I was there when Thomas’ body was found in the Van Starkenborgh Canal. A direct colleague took part in the underwater search. I also wanted to attend the bad news meeting with the relatives. I had been in contact with them all this time, I felt familiar with them. The next few nights I dreamed that I had to get someone out of the water. No nightmares, but dreams with impact. A bit of processing.”

How do you deal with these kinds of things?

“By talking about it a lot, at home and at work. These are terrible events, but it is very satisfying that you can be there for people in such a situation. That also makes the work beautiful. You matter.

Connecting people is so beautiful. I am very proud of this neighborhood and its people. When children come up to me and say ‘Eva, do you have another tattoo’, I get all warm. When I enter a schoolyard, the children hang on my legs.”

You also have to be able to take a joke. Shortly after New Year’s Eve you were put through the wringer at Dumpert because you had allowed yourself to be tempted into singing in the street.

“On New Year’s Eve, a group of residents did karaoke on the street. I drove past it. The choice was: either I wave and drive on, or get out and participate in a song. I chose the latter. Doctor Bernhard was it. My performance was put on Facebook and went viral. I didn’t realize anything until I started getting all kinds of messages.”

Dumpert had taken over the video and concluded that there is really no career for you in the music world.

“Big joke, right? I thought it was hilarious.”

In the race for the Woman in the Media award you have competition from singer Izaline Calister, former deputy Nienke Homan, scientist Leónie de Jonge, historian Sanne Meijer and earthquake deputy Susan Top.

“I am extremely honored, especially when I saw the other names. A nice list. And then my insecurity arises. If you ask me, who doesn’t belong in that list? I! They have positions of influence.”

You too, right?

“The difference is that I don’t look for the media. I use social media to connect with the Oosterparkers. And the media picks up on that. I was talking about these top women at home. And then my 9-year-old daughter shouted: ‘Mommy, you are also a top woman!’ So sweet.

I get a lot of nice comments. How often am I now shouted at on the street: ‘I voted for you, Eva’. And let’s be honest: When I see the list of nominees, I think: I really have the best job.”