The Rotterdam police are investigating a WhatsApp group in which police officers allegedly made misogynistic and sexist statements about colleagues.
According to the Rotterdam police, this concerns the app group of the detainee tasks team. For example, this team searches detainees, takes photos and takes DNA samples. The nine police officers in question are all male. The investigation was started after the team’s management was notified of the existence of the app group.
The police say they will not tolerate such behavior. The Safety Integrity and Complaints department has been asked to conduct a thorough investigation. The aim is to clarify “what everyone’s role and contribution has been”. Until more is clear, the nine police officers are not at work.
Previous research WhatsApp group
Following a publication in NRC, the police in Rotterdam previously investigated statements made by officers in another app group. This revealed more hurtful, racist statements than had been published by NRC. The newspaper wrote that the five officers in the WhatsApp group called citizens, among other things, “cunt Africans” and “pauper immigrants”.
The fact that the five were ultimately only reprimanded in writing led to misunderstanding both within and outside the police. This year it emerged that an officer who had made racist statements while at work would be given a managerial position at the immigration police. When this came out, the leadership of the Rotterdam police decided to reverse that appointment.
- Soldiers who shared racist images are not prosecuted
- Police management will talk to officers after unrest about a ‘mild’ approach to racism
- Rotterdam police start investigation after possible new racist incident
