Safe reporting project in
Utrecht
Context
The safe reporting policy was initially aimed at victims of human trafficking, but now is also available to report crimes like muggings, work related crimes, abuses or labour exploitation, among others. However, the existence of the policy is not widely known in The Netherlands, not even in cities such as Utrecht and Amsterdam, where it has been effectively implemented. On one hand, undocumented migrants don’t know about the procedures, or they are simply too afraid to contact the police. On the other hand, police officers don’t follow it, either because they are not aware of it or because they see victims as actually criminals, which reinforces victim’s fear to report the crimes they suffer.
The pilot project “free in, free out” has been a successful local practice. It guarantees the freedom of migrants in irregular migration status to go to police stations to report a crime and leave the station without being arrested or charged.
Objectives
By participating in the Safe Reporting project, we aim to gain a better understanding on the implementation of safe reporting policies and underlying mechanisms within the Netherlands, with specific focus on Utrecht. The research about safe reporting policies in different cities in our country, together with any scientific knowledge available about this topic in The Netherlands, will help us gain expertise and build tools to enhance safe reporting of crimes for a vulnerable community who are part of our city.
Partners
Police force
Non-governmental organisations
Academic institutions
Social services
Other municipalities such as Amsterdam
Tools
REPORT Country report about pioneering strategies on safe reporting of crime [English] [Nederlands]
Contact
kelly.bezema@utrecht.nl
