Dutch police are consistently failing to reach targets on dealing with emergency calls, broadcaster Nos said on Wednesday.

The national target states police should arrive within 15 minutes in nine out of 10 calls but last year that was only achieved in 70 out of 393 local authority areas.

On a national basis, 85% of calls were dealt with within the allotted time, but the large distances police have to cover in rural areas have a major impact on the overall rate. In addition, the 80 kph speed limit on country roads has an impact, police said.

In Limburg and Noord-Holland provinces, police failed to meet the target in every council district. The same was true for Amsterdam, Nos said.

Around half of the Netherlands’ 400 police stations are being closed down as part of an efficiency drive to save €230m. Many will be replaced by ‘support desks’ where locals can report crimes or talk to officials for a few hours a week

Justice ministry inspectors said in January the closure of some 200 police stations nationwide will damage policing because officers will take too long to bring people they have arrested into custody.

In addition, four mayors in the rural east of the country have written to the justice ministry sounding the alarm. Country areas need more police cars at their disposal because of the distance between settlements, the mayors say. ‘This development is unacceptable when it comes to maintaining order and public safety,’ the mayors said.