Nearly two-thirds of Dutch people believe that the police have too little authority. Among people over 65, three-quarters even think that officers do not show their ‘strong arm’ enough, while young people between the ages of 18 and 30 are more lenient. In that group, 46.5 percent agree with the statement that the police have too little authority.
This is evident from research among around 1,500 Dutch people commissioned by it journalistic platform THIS of the EO, carried out by Bureau DataIM. Political preference appears to play a role. Those who mainly vote for left-wing parties judge less harshly on average than those who vote on the right. It is striking that when people are approached by the police, their political preference fades into the background. No fewer than 85.4 percent of people over 65 say they ‘always’ respect the authority of the officer in such a case. Among young people this is 72.5 percent.
DIT investigated whether Dutch people have a problem with authority. It appears that it is not only the police that suffer from a lack of authority. Teachers fare the worst: 69.6 percent of Dutch people believe they have insufficient authority, closely followed by healthcare workers (68.6 percent). Politics also does not have a strong image: just over half of Dutch people believe that ministers and members of parliament have too little authority.
Judges and mayors score relatively high and, according to a majority of Dutch people, have sufficient authority (67.6 percent and 56.6 percent respectively). More than 54 percent believe that journalists have sufficient authority.
Tutoyeren
Nearly 73 percent of Dutch people agree that elderly people over the age of 75 should be addressed as ‘u’ as a sign of respect. More than 65 percent believe that agents always deserve ‘you’. More than half want to stop special investigating officers (BOAs): only 44 percent think that these municipal officials should be addressed as ‘you’, the rest opt for ‘you’.
Addressing parents as ‘you’ is seen as standard by an even smaller group: approximately 35 percent of respondents believe that such a form of politeness is appropriate. However, 61 percent think that Dutch children have a problem with respecting authority.
More about the research on Wednesday, September 27 at 10:15 PM at This is the Issue (EO) on NPO2.
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