Samenvatting

For a long time the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) was the sole provider of forensic services in the Netherlands. Since the beginning of this century, several other private forensic institutes have been established. These institutes partly deliver the same products and services as the NFI, including for the police and judicial authorities. This article discusses the results from a pilot project in which police and judicial authorities were given additional opportunities for furnishing assignments to private investigation agencies instead of the NFI. A budget of EUR 3.5 million was provided. Many respondents viewed the speed of the investigations and reports by private forensic institutes as a very positive aspect of outsourcing to these institutes. On four out of five aspects (transparency, clarity, bureaucracy and readability), the private institutes scored better than the NFI. The NFI scored better on ‘safety’. Despite the positive experiences with outsourcing, the Minister of Security and Justice decided not to follow up the pilot. Although the police and prosecution are free to use the services of the private institutes, it is unlikely that they’ll do so very often because the investigation costs will be at the expense of their budget. The bill for the services provided by the NFI however is sent to the ministry. Therefore the NFI can continue operating as a monopolist.