Justice minister David van Weel has apologised for accusing police officers of damaging public trust by allegedly accessing the case files of a 17-year-old girl who was murdered on a cycle path.
Van Weel responded after police launched an internal investigation into 1,700 officers who requested information about the murder of Lisa, who was killed on the outskirts of Amsterdam last year. A 23-year-old man from Nigeria is standing trial for her murder.
At the time Van Weel said it was “unacceptable that this has happened”, not just “for the relatives [of Lisa], but also for trust in the integrity of the police service”.
He added: “Police personnel are only allowed to use the information system if it is necessary in the course of carrying out their duties.”
The minister said on Tuesday that his initial reaction was wrong because he implied that all 1,700 officers had gained access to Lisa’s case files, when in fact they had only requested information. The documents themselves are only available to officers working on the case.
Senior police chiefs also apologised to their colleagues for their handling of the investigation and retracted a letter sent out to the 1,700 officers who looked up Lisa’s name.
The head of the police force, Janny Knol, and acting national police chief Wilbert Paulissen, said they should have discussed the matter with the officers instead of sending out hundreds of letters.
“Many of our colleagues felt judged before the event because of the way we communicated,” they said in a press statement.
“This has led to a feeling among police personnel that there are doubts about their professionalism and integrity. We understand that this is hurtful and we apologise for it.”
Data breach
The force had earlier apologised through a lawyer to Lisa’s family, who said in a response: “It hurts us deeply [to learn] that curiosity or other motives led to the unauthorised accessing of very confidential details.”
The privacy watchdog AP was also informed because gaining unauthorised access to personal information constitutes a data breach, which must be reported by law.
The investigation into unauthorised access of the police information system will continue, the police chiefs added. “There are very clear indications of unjustified requests and confidential information about the information has ended up in the media.”
Last month, the man charged with murdering the teenager and with the rape and attempted rape of two other women in Amsterdam last August confessed to all three crimes.
In a preliminary hearing, the man, known as Chris Jude, admitted killing Lisa as she cycled home on August 20, raping a woman on the Weesperzijde in Amsterdam on August 15, and attempting to rape another woman five days earlier.
