Accenture: Dutch citizens expect police to embrace digital

The Dutch police have in recent years booked considerable progress in embracing digital tools, yet in the view of citizens there still is a long way to go, says consultancy Accenture. More than two thirds of citizens believe that the police should boost its services and communication through the application of new and advanced digital tools, including the use of mobile devices, predictive techniques and wearable technologies.

In its ‘2014 Online Citizen Survey’, consulting firm Accenture asked 4,000 citizens across eight countries* to provide their perception on the use of technology within the police force. The research reveals that on average, 80% of citizens believe digital policing improves police services. 88% say digital technology helps investigating crime and catching criminals, with the percentage for the Netherlands slightly lower (82%). Globally 82% and in the Netherlands 80% is of the opinion that digital tools increase overall police effectiveness.

When asked for how much citizens believe police are embracing digital, they highlight a gap between actual and desirable usage. Overall citizens are relatively positive on the digital journey so far, with 22% more citizens stating they observe the police makes use of digital tools. Compared to the optimal situation, they however feel there is a gap. 77% believes police should regularly apply digital tools such as mobile devices, predictive techniques, social media and wearable technologies, an expectation which lies 35% higher than actual usage. In the Netherlands the digital expectation is even higher (80%).

“It also shows that while nearly all citizens want to actively help police prevent, detect and fight crime but a gap exists between what digital tools citizens expect police to use, and what police actually use,” says Joost van der Burg from Accenture. The identified gap though differs per channel:

A benchmark of the key conclusions across the eight countries studied:

*  Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.