The police may only take on 3,000 new officers between 2010 and 2012, half the number originally planned, the Volkskrant reports on Wednesday, quoting a confidential home affairs ministry plan.

Police will also have to cut spending by up to €190m a year and take €400m out of their reserves to spend on essentials, the paper says.
The paper says the major city mayors, who are the effective chiefs of police, have made their objections to the cuts plain. They say the plan will ‘directly effect safety on the streets’.
‘This measure will bring a short term advantage but the negative effect on the capacity and practice of policing will be felt for years,’ the Volkskrant quotes the mayors as saying.
The Volkskrant points out that police recruitment had been stepped up to cope with the wave of retirements expected over the coming years. Those agreements had been made between police chiefs and the ministry.