Police Abbreviations

The word police is derived from the Greek word “politeia” which means: the government’s concern to protect the community and its members against dangers threatening them. The police function is twofold : maintenance of public order, peace and security and the protection of everyone’s rights.

In earlier times people knew the bailiff, an official appointed by or on behalf of the duke, who was assisted by the aldermen and an official appointed by him with the title of sheriff , who was charged with the administration and the administration of justice . In the course of time, the sheriff was increasingly charged with the actual police work. Around 1800, in addition to the local police, came the general state police , dividing the country into departments, districts and municipalities .† After the restoration of independence (1813), a commissioner-general was placed at the head of the state police, based in Rotterdam, until in 1814 the leadership came into the hands of the attorney-general at the Supreme Court . In 1838 the entire police apparatus came under the Minister of Justice and the Attorney Generals of the Provincial Courts, who also supervised the urban police.

The security police consists of two groups: the national police and the municipal police† The State Police is under the Ministry of Justice: the Inspector General of the State Police is the head of the force. In addition to the task of guaranteeing public order, peace and security and of ensuring the repression of crimes, the national police also have secondary tasks: one of these is entrusted to the public prosecutor’s office. link between politicians and the judiciary. Each district has its own parquet group; for Brabant these are located in Breda and ‘s-Hertogenbosch. the latter also includes Maastricht and Roermond. The police in the water is a separate part of the national police.

The group of detectives is charged with investigating and investigating crimes. It dates back to the early 19th century as a separate branch of service in Europe and was first introduced in England and France. In Central, West and East Brabant, a regional criminal investigation assistance team has a special task. An RRB consists of detectives from different municipalities with a long experience and specialized in tactical investigations and specialists in the field of technical investigations. All police forces in Brabant supply men to the team: they take action in the event of serious violent crimes, after permission from the public prosecutor and at the request of the local police.

The field police in Brabant are active in the municipalities of Zundert and Boxtel, she mainly has a task before the opening of the hunting season.

In North Brabant, a limited number of municipalities (ie about nineteen) have municipal police. This is the case in Bergen op Zoom, Boxtel, Breda, Deurne, Eindhoven, Etten-Leur, Geldrop, Helmond, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Oosterhout, Oss, Roosendaal and Nispen, Tilburg, Uden, Valkenswaard, Veghel, Veldhoven, Vught and Waalwijk.

In all others, the state police operate, which is divided into three districts, which are in turn subdivided into groups.

Police is a part of the government task, to be described as government supervision and government coercion to comply with applicable law. The preventive task (care for security, peace and order) and the repressive task at the service of the judiciary (detection of criminal offences, arrest of perpetrators of criminal offenses and enforcement of judicial sentences).

Traditionally, the police task was performed by local officials. In the Christmas games, the savior or schulte was charged with this. He was assisted by church game soldiers, also called rush hunters or red rods, whose main task was to ward off beggars and vagabonds. In the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1814, the mayor was charged with the command of the constables and the enforcement of inspections and regulations. Security at night was entrusted to the night watch, a kind of vigilante.

In the 19th century, officials from the government also arrived: first the Marechaussee corps, later the Rijkspolitie corps, then called Rijksveldwacht. The task of the Marechaussee was mainly to combat vagrancy and to provide assistance to the municipal police, the National Police covered the countryside.

In the years 1940-1945 there was a German police in addition to the Dutch one. The occupying forces had the Sicherheitspolizei and the Sicherheitsdienst watch over German interests. National and municipal constables were united in a central state police. The city and county police president was Lieutenant Colonel Ph. White. The Landwacht, set up to protect NSB members against aggression, actually functioned as an extension of the SD.

The distinction between state and municipal police, which was restored immediately after the war, was maintained until the 1994 Police Act was introduced, in which regional forces were prescribed.

List of Acronyms Related to Police