Samenvatting

Transnational crime demands an effective international police cooperation. Throughout the years it seems difficult to realise a durable cross-border collaboration. This article presents findings regarding the research on Dutch-German collaboration on combatting attacks on ATMs. A challenge in this particular field of crime is the mobility of the offenders, often crossing national borders. A significant part of the offenders originate from the Netherlands. The findings are based on interviews with relevant actors in the cooperation and, among others, on analysis of relevant documents. The article suggests that the concept of collaborative governance provides useful insights for a better understanding international police cooperation. This mode of governance brings multiple stakeholders together in common forums to engage in consensus-oriented decision making. Based on this concept, the research identifies a series of factors that influence further collaboration. Due to an increase in the number of stakeholders the collaboration is becoming more complex. As a result it has arrived at a crossroad where there is a choice between continuing on the same route or heading for a different concept of collaboration.