Samenvatting

A police team in central Amsterdam experiences difficulties in their contact with the local community. Partly due to a history of violence in the neighbourhood. They aspire to improve the contact. A qualitative empirical study was conducted by interviewing police officers, community workers and residents. With the aim to explore all perspectives from involved actors. The perception of difficult contact is confirmed by both the police, community workers and residents. It seems to be related to communication after incidents and reporting to the police. There are opportunities to become more approach­able in this closed community and to improve the response after an informal report to the police. In this article the outcomes of the empirical and theoretical study are presented and recommendations are towards the police team and the local government.