Samenvatting

Since 2006 the police and the army in the Netherlands cooperate within the System of Special Units. These units are called upon in life-threatening situations with imminent or actual severe violence related for example to organized crime or terrorism. The author examines this cooperation and its added value. The work of the special units system in the police organization should be viewed and treated as police work. Considering today’s concerns about terrorism, it seems wise to invest in an adequate anti-terrorism capacity. Yet the reality is that there are far fewer terrorist attacks and victims in the Netherlands now than in the 1970s. At the same time the number of arrests under life-threatening circumstances that are dealt with by the Arrest Team (SWAT) within the police organization is much higher nowadays. The SWAT lacks capacity to deal with this situation adequately.