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Feb 25, 2024 at 5:00 AM Update: 25 minutes ago
The police have adjusted basic training in an attempt to eliminate discrimination and racism by the police. For example, all police officers in training are now required to watch a critical documentary The Blue Family to look. The Police Academy confirmed this after a tour of NU.nl.
In the documentary The Blue Family from 2022, six whistleblowers report that officers are discriminated against, excluded and bullied in the workplace. It also does not feel safe for officers to raise these problems. The documentary caused a shock within and outside the police.
The police leadership previously confirmed that discrimination and racism within the police is a structural problem and promised improvement.
“More attention is indeed being paid to diversity, inclusion and integrity,” the Police Academy said on behalf of the seven locations that provide basic police training for around 2,500 novice officers every year. “The Blue Family is part of the curriculum.”
NU.nl spoke to several police officers in training, who anonymously confirmed that “you really can’t get away with it”. The Blue Family not to have looked at. “The teacher singled us all out and you had to answer questions about it,” one of them explains.
Another said that seeing the documentary was “an eye opener” about discrimination by and within the police. “I will definitely take this knowledge with me when I go out on the streets.”
On behalf of the police leadership, deputy chief of police Liesbeth Huyzer emphasizes the importance of the updated basic training for the police organization. “From the moment new colleagues start, we set the standard that racism, exclusion and discrimination have no place here.”
Officers in training also discussing painful documentary
Since September, the film has also been part of the renewed two-year basic police training Raw, about daily work and life in the police and the desired culture. There is also a compilation video with fragments of it Officersabout officers during their first year of training, The podcas are fascinatingt about police work in practice and also parts of this Of Blue Family.
Comes to the training location in Amsterdam The Blue Family already discussed during the introductory weeks, in the workshop Integrity versus Awareness. In preparation, the officers in training watch the documentary, discuss it and complete assignments.
Afran Groenewoud is a society and inclusion reporter
Afran writes about inequality in society and colonial history. Read more stories from Afran here.
Human rights organization is positive
Human rights organization Controle Alt Delete stands up for equal treatment by emergency services and contributed to The Blue Family. “Very good,” says a spokesperson about the police’s step to adjust the training. “It is important to make it clear at the start of your police career that racism and discrimination have no place in police work. It is about the police of the future.”
At the same time, according to Controle Alt Delete, we are still far from there. “Because part of the training to become a police officer is done in practice, within a team. But in the police workplace there is still the reality of racism and discrimination by employees.”
The human rights organization also calls it “sharp” that the six whistleblowers The Blue Family have not yet benefited much from the renewal of police training. Most have now left. “A number were punished by the police with lawsuits. In the meantime, the documentary in which they spoke out has become mandatory teaching material.”
The police are regularly discredited due to discrimination and racism
Police officers are regularly discredited for racism towards citizens. For example, in January the Public Prosecution Service started an investigation into possible racist statements made by two officers on social medium X.
In the same month, a Rotterdam police officer was fired after making misogynistic and discriminatory statements. In March last year, the police immediately suspended six police officers for making discriminatory comments about people of color.
The police leadership promised in June 2022 in response to The Blue Family to always act when one of the more than 65,000 employees crosses the line. “Where necessary, dismissal will follow.”
*The names of the quoted officers in training are known to the editors. They wanted to share their experiences on the condition of anonymity.
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