There has been a slight rise in the number of people killed or wounded by police bullets, news website NOS reports.

In 2011, the police investigated 30 incidents in which officers used guns. These left five people dead and 29 injured. In 2010, there were 25 incidents, and the year before, 23, according to police sources.

Last year’s fatal shootings were in Amsterdam, The Hague, Hoensbroek, in the south of the country, and Apeldoorn, in the east. The last year there were as many incidents in which police fired shots was 1994.

On Friday night, officers in Amstelveen fired their guns when they arrested three suspects, but no one was injured, the police say.

The Council of Police Commissioners says officers are using their weapons more often as a result of the mounting violence throughout society. Suspects are also increasingly directing their aggression against the police, the Council says.

Sociologist Jaap Timmer dismisses this explanation, saying the number of incidents is too low to be significant, and points out that violent crime is in fact dropping. He has been studying violence directed against and used by the police since 1993.

Compared with their counterparts in Germany, France and Scandinavia, Dutch police are responsible for more gun casualties, Mr Timmer notes. The reason, he claims, is the fact that Dutch officers are authorised to use their weapons in more circumstances than their colleagues in neighbouring countries.

Dutch police, for instance, are allowed to use their weapons while making arrests, Mr Timmer explains, whereas police officers in other countries are only permitted to use guns in self-defence.

(cl/mw)

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide