Samenvatting

After some serious failures in criminal justice procedures, in 2006 ‘critical review’ was introduced in the Dutch police as a measure to prevent tunnel vision in criminal investigation. An analysis of 26 review cases and interviews with representatives of the Dutch police forces shows that in practice reviewers are confronted with a fundamental dilemma of distance vs. involvement in their relation with criminal investigation team. Critical review proves to have concrete effects on the criminal investigation process, although their scope usually appears to be limited. Although these effects are modest and review takes scarce police resources, the authors recommend a continuation of critical review.