WILLEMSTAD – The lack of a modern legal framework for sharing police and justice information within the Kingdom of the Netherlands is creating risks for both crime fighting and the protection of citizens' personal data, according to the Council for Law Enforcement.
In its State of Law Enforcement 2025 report, the Council describes the situation as concerning, warning that police services, prosecutors, and other authorities require access to information in order to effectively combat crime.
The Council argues that the absence of clear legal rules governing the exchange of information creates uncertainty throughout the law enforcement chain. This can complicate cooperation between the countries and territories of the Kingdom and potentially affect investigations involving organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, and other cross-border offenses.
At the same time, the Council stresses that inadequate legal safeguards can also pose risks to privacy rights.
Without clear legislation and oversight mechanisms, questions remain regarding how sensitive personal information is collected, stored, processed, and shared among law enforcement agencies.
For Curaçao, the concerns are particularly significant because the report indicates that supervision of police data processing has not yet been formally established. The Council says the island still lacks a fully developed oversight framework to monitor how police information is handled.
According to the Council, both effective crime fighting and the protection of citizens' privacy require a proper balance between information sharing and legal safeguards.
The report concludes that resolving the legislative gaps should remain a priority to strengthen cooperation within the Kingdom's justice system while ensuring that personal data is handled lawfully and securely.