Every day, the police ask citizens for help in solving crimes. On politie.nl, on social media, in regional investigation programs, and of course every week on Opsporing Verzocht. And with success. Thousands of cases, from murders to home burglaries, have been solved in the past thanks to information from citizens.
Doubt
Still, we also see that people sometimes hesitate, says initiator and podcast maker Martin de Wit of the National Investigation Communication Team, part of the Police Service Center: The idea for a podcast arose when I spoke with the golden informant in a major investigation into a serious violent crime. Our team had organized a lot of publicity around that investigation and so I wanted to know what finally pushed the informant over the line. In that conversation, the informant told me that after our call, they had searched Google for weeks for information about the police tip process, without really finding answers. Eventually, this person fortunately decided to share one sentence of information via an online tip form. That one sentence was ultimately the key to solving the investigation. You can make such a difference as an informant. And it is so important that informants can get clarity about what happens with their information and what choices they have.
Informants, victims, and dispatchers
In the podcast, people who have a role in the tip process speak, such as an informant, but also a detective, a public prosecutor, a victim, or a dispatcher at the investigation tip line. For example, a victim of a robbery explains how important it was for him that, thanks to informants, his attackers could be arrested. A dispatcher at the investigation tip line explains what kinds of tips he hears and what he does with that information. And an informant tells how he recently recognized someone on surveillance footage and what he did then. Team leader Daan Annegarn of the National Investigation Communication Team: We believe that informants truly deserve to hear these stories and be well informed in this way. In a podcast, we can take our time and, for example, also let people hear what it sounds like when you call the investigation tip line or explain when someone might be eligible for a reward.
In secret
An entire episode is dedicated to informants who only want to share their story in secret. What are the advantages or possible disadvantages? Secret tips can be given via the independent reporting point Meld Misdaad Anoniem but also via the Police Criminal Intelligence Team. Annegarn: In the podcast, the Public Prosecution Service not only explains what difference that makes for the investigation but especially what it means for the informant themselves. Our goal is that people feel safe to tell what they know and thus help make the Netherlands safer.
Listening to the podcast
The first four episodes of the Tipgevers podcast are now available on popular podcast channels such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The podcast can also be found via www.politie.nl/tip. Additionally, we actively point informants to the existence of the podcast, for example at the tip forms on politie.nl, and we will also regularly refer to the podcast when we call on the public for help in an investigation. Annegarn: As police, we really want to work together with citizens to solve crimes. We hope to do that even better with this podcast.
