- Marechaussee
- Tasks
Police task for the Ministry of Defence
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee functions as a police force for the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Netherlands Army and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. For that reason, Marechaussee brigades and posts are based at barracks, military air bases, naval ports and with units of the Dutch armed forces abroad.
The Marechaussee also serves as a police organisation for all foreign armed forces stationed in the Netherlands; Marechaussee personnel also work at the international military headquarters.
The Marechaussee’s military police task is twofold. On some occasions, the activities of the Marechaussee are preventive and service-oriented; at other times, they are more repressive in nature.
Examples of preventive activities are police patrols, traffic duties, maintaining order during exercises, column escorts and giving advice and information to commanders and their personnel.
The repressive activities of the Marechaussee concentrate more on enforcement. They include monitoring the observance of the Road Traffic Act and environmental legislation and investigating criminal offences. Criminal investigations are conducted under the authority of the Public Prosecutions Office in Arnhem.
The inspectors of the Military Inspection Corps for Hazardous Substances monitor the observance of the Explosive Substances Regulations within the armed forces. They inspect transports and storage of ammunition or hazardous substances. And in large-scale exercises, the inspectors monitor the safe supply and removal of ammunition and fuel.
The supervision of the storage and transportation of hazardous substances is not, incidentally, confined to Dutch territory. These Marechaussee inspectors are also authorised to ensure that Dutch units abroad comply with the regulations.
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