Speakers

Since september 2020 Hanneke Ekelmans is part of the Force Command of the Netherlands Police as Chief Constable and Head of Operations. The five-member Force Command heads the 65,000 strong force, makes final strategic decisions at national level, and is supported by the Commissioner’s Staff. As Head of Operations she is tasked with overlooking the national portfolio’s crime investigation, subversive crime and migration. Ekelmans is a highly experencienced manager who has been active in a wide range of topics in law enforcement.

After gaining her law degree in 1988, she trained for six years as a member of the Judiciary. She worked as a public prosecutor (1994-2005) dealing with assessing criminal cases, defending cases in court, leading criminal investigation teams and holding various management positions. 

After working with the Public Prosecution Office as assistant chief of public prosecution of one of the ten Netherlands District Courts, she made a career change and joined the Netherlands Police in 2010. The first two years she worked in The Hague, and then moved to the capital Amsterdam in 2013. 

In Amsterdam she worked as Head Operations as part of the Regional Unit Command Team. During her time in Amsterdam, Ekelmans had to deal with numerous challenges as a lot of excessive violence and liquidations took place. These acts of violence had a huge impact on society – both regionally and nationally and created a lot of fear and anxiety among the population. Managing both this and the numerous questions from the media was challenging. Ekelmans feels proud that she was part of the team that mastered the situation.

As Police Chief from 2017 until 2020 she headed and carried final responsibility for the extensive Zeeland-West-Brabant unit in the south of the Netherlands bordering Belgium. Ekelmans had a sharp focus on creating a strategic approach to subversive crime, in coordination with various stakeholders within and outside the police as part of a whole-of-government approach.