Last year 150 police officers in the Netherlands were sacked for dereliction of duty, up 30 on previous years, according to new police figures.

In total, 309 police officers faced disciplinary measures, ranging from a formal reprimand to being sacked.

Of them, 68 officers were disciplined for wrongful use of the police files, including both withholding and leaking information. ‘Although there were only a few cases, we need to keep focused on making sure information is used carefully,’ police integrity chief Lonneke Soudant said.

In total, police started 530 disciplinary investigations into 499 officers last year, roughly in line with previous years.

The police did not give further details about why officers were fired but in previous years the offences ranged from leaking information to theft and drunk driving and taking hard drugs.

The police force, with a current workforce of some 60,000, is the biggest employer in the Netherlands.