OFFICERS from North Yorkshire Police have travelled to the Netherlands to share knowledge and best practice with colleagues in Amsterdam.

North Yorkshire's Proactive Policing team were invited by the Politie Roads Policing team, to help develop improved working practices around the proactive policing of road networks.

The visit, in October, was the second by North Yorkshire officers to Amsterdam, as part of an on-going collaboration between the two forces.

In 2017, North Yorkshire Police hosted the Amsterdam Pro-active team (TOWOS) when they visited the UK. Officers were able to share training concepts around tactical deployment and the role of supporting covert policing operations. As a result of this visit, the Dutch team were able to implement a training regime and adopt best practice to enhance their own operational effectiveness.

Last month, Chief Inspector Ed Haywood-Noble and Sergeant Mick Roffe flew out to Amsterdam and were able to work with TOWOS officers during four operational shifts.

The first shift saw them taking part in the TOWOS training package which had been implemented following the visit to North Yorkshire Police in 2017.

Both officers were able to blend seamlessly into the team training – showing how closely the tactics used by both forces now mirror one another.

The officers then moved on to working three operational shifts, where they observed officers dealing with drugs supply issues, stolen vehicles and vehicles fitted with hidden compartments. They were on-hand on Wednesday, October 16 on Burgemeester Elsenlaan in Rijswijk when their Dutch colleagues stopped a suspected stolen car and arrested its driver, and were able to see first-hand how tactical deployments are carried out on the road network of Amsterdam and surrounding areas.

CI Haywood-Noble said: “This was a really useful exchange, both for North Yorkshire Police and our colleagues in Amsterdam. It was amazing to see how similar the working practices are between our two forces.”

CI Haywood-Noble also visited the local force’s control room, which is shared with police, fire and ambulance services.

The trip proved beneficial for both forces, with officers identifying some areas of working which they will adopt in the future in North Yorkshire, and offering advice to their Dutch colleagues around in-car CCTV, body-worn video and the use of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR).

Sgt Roffe added: “The visit was a great success – it’s clear that our ongoing collaboration is of great benefit to both organisations. Our thanks goes to all the officers at Amsterdam who could not have made us feel more welcome.”