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Netherlands: Inquiry into police methods

01 January 1995

On 7 December, the parliamentary investigations commission into police methods and organized crime led by Social Democrat MP Maarten Van Traa was set up. In the coming year, the commission will investigate which covert operations are in use by the police and how these should be regulated and controlled. The commission will do its work partly behind closed doors to avoid leaking of sensitive information (if any such information is left, which insiders doubt by now).

At it's first in camera session, the commission experienced a security incident when the microphones remained switched on and the full session was transmitted to the editorial staff offices of radio broadcasting corporations in the parliament building. Thus, immediately after the session was over, a summary of its contents was broadcast on national radio: the commission had spoken about security arrangements, such as which safe vault would be used, how sensitive information could be kept away from MPs' staff and which crime experts could be hired as consultants.