We say farewell to Pieter Tops: the man who put undermining crime on the map

On Friday 4 July, Pieter Tops took leave as senior lecturer in Police and Public Administration at the Netherlands Police Academy. He was also a professor of Public Administration at Tilburg University. During his farewell ceremony, he received a royal honour from Theo Weterings, mayor of the municipality of Tilburg. He was granted membership of the Order of Orange Nassau in the grade of Officer.

Pieter received the honour for his work at the university and his major commitment to many other organiszations. From 2006, Pieter was a member of the Police Academy Board for seven years, during which period he helped set up the Academy’s Research and Knowledge sector. In 2015, he became a senior lecturer at the Police Academy.

Committed professional

‘As a colleague, Pieter was a committed and unique professional. He has an astute mind and is always open to a healthy discussion,’ says Paul Moss, Knowledge and Research team chief. ‘As a senior lecturer, he had a major influence on how we look at undermining crime, also within the police, the public administration, and police education.’
‘Because of Pieter, we at the Police Academy have developed a different view on the challenges that the police and government are faced with. His work supported the development of curriculums and courses aimed at improving the ability of our police personnel to recognize and combat undermining crime.’

The invisible revealed

‘Not only can his work be found in books and articles, it is also reflected in everyday practice and the way of thinking in police education. It is also visible in the police’s cooperation with public administration. Pieter’s merit as a senior lecturer is that he revealed the invisible. He helped the police and government bodies improve and become more transparent. His work continues to be important for the future.’

In 2017, Pieter drew nationwide attention with the book De achterkant van Nederland (The reverse side of the Netherlands), which he wrote together with Jan Tromp, a journalist of Dutch daily De Volkskrant. In the book he sketched a shocking image of the interconnectedness of organized crime and Dutch society.  

Undermining crime is no longer a remote phenomenon

‘Pieter highlighted a subject that had remained underexposed for a long time. He managed to shed light on difficult questions around undermining crime. He not only put undermining crime on the agenda of authorities and professionals, but also embedded it in police education. As a result of his work, students and professionals no longer consider undermining crime as something vague or remote. It is now a clearly defined and widespread phenomenon that requires an intelligent and courageous approach,’ according to Paul.

Research into crime and technology

The consequences of organized crime and undermining crime for society always played a key role in Pieter’s research. His interest in security started in Rotterdam, after the murder of Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn in 2002. From 2022, he combined the subject of undermining crime with data science and artificial intelligence, also as an endowed professor in Undermining Crime Studies and Data Science at the Jheronimus Academy of Data Science (JADS).

Pieter has also been affiliated with Tijdschrift voor de politie (Police Magazine) for a long time. This magazine appears both in print and online and aims to inform professionals and help them form opinions by providing practical, accessible, and easily usable professional information. It also selects relevant research and explains the results to the reader. The magazine also offers a platform where you can candidly express opinions and ideas, which stimulates discussion about security based on the desire for better policing.