From now on, motorists who are caught driving under the influence will be given a penalty or issued a writ of summons within thirty minutes. In many cases, the penalty can be paid at once. As a result of less red tape and a better cooperation between the police and the Public Prosecution Service, 30 to 45 minutes of time can be saved in each separate case. This will enable police officers to spend more of their time on proper police work: fighting crime and public nuisance in the street.
A quicker handling of violations of Section 8 of the Road Traffic Act (drunk driving) must have been implemented in the whole of the Netherlands by the end of this spring, said Mr Opstelten, the Minister of Security and Justice, this afternoon during an alcohol testing exercise performed in Rotterdam by the Rotterdam-Rijnmond police. The accelerated settlement in cases of drunk driving is one of the measures taken by Minister Opstelten, in close cooperation with the police and the Public Prosecution Service, in order to tackle the increasing red tape in the police force. The object is to reduce the administrative load at the police force by 25 per cent within this government’s term of office.
A pilot project to put the new method into practice has now been started in nine police regions. As soon as a motorist is caught driving under the influence, the police officer will immediately call the Public Prosecution Service. At the same time, the official report is sent to the Public Prosecution Service by e-mail. The Public Prosecution Service will then make a decision within half an hour. To that end, the Public Prosecution Service will, from now on, be available outside normal office hours. Subsequently, the police officer will impose the penalty at once or – in the event of more serious violations – issue a writ of summons. In many cases, the penalty can be paid on the spot. Up till now, motorists who were caught driving under the influence would have to wait for weeks before receiving their penalty or writ of summons by mail. Annually, the Public Prosecution Service handles an average of 35,000 cases of drunk driving.
A lot of time can be saved by the implementation of a highly simplified official report. Up to now, the report covered at least nine pages. This size has been reduced to a maximum of two A4 pages. Additionally, police officers no longer need to complete a separate form to demand the surrender of the individual’s driving licence. At this time, the average time spent by a police officer on completing an official report is 60 to 90 minutes. A very considerable amount of time will now be saved in this respect. The establishment of more direct contacts between the police and the Public Prosecution Service has improved the quality of the official reports.
According to Mr Opstelten, police officers will enjoy their work more as a result of the quicker handling, as they can witness the results of their work right away. Moreover, the new approach is very much in keeping with the 24-hour society that we live in these days, says Mr Opstelten. “I particularly like the development which entails the Public Prosecution Service being available outside normal office hours. After all, most cases of driving under the influence occur in the evening and during the night”.
Government of the Netherlands