Justice minister Ferd Grapperhaus is keen to establish a special court to deal with cases involving police violence.

A special court is needed because cases in which police are accused of using excessive force require specific expertise, Grapperhaus said. Police use violence almost exclusively in complex situations, he said, and judges with experience in such cases should examine them.

The public prosecution department and the Council for the Judiciary do not support the minister and say all courts have the ability to look at cases of police violence.

The government is also planning to reduce the maximum sentences for police who are found guilty of wrongly using violence. The crime of ‘breaking the law on the use of violence’ would then carry a maximum of three years in jail if passed, even if someone had died.