Signing your police statement
After a police interrogation, you may be given a statement to sign. Take the time to understand the content. Check whether the text correctly reflects your answers.
Duration: 1:31
Further reading and sources
This video summarises the main points. The full article provides more detail, exceptions and official sources. This information does not replace advice about your case.
Read the full articleSpoken transcript
Download the transcriptCriminal Law in the Netherlands.
After a police interrogation, you may be given a statement to sign. Take the time to understand the content. Check whether the text correctly reflects your answers.
Does it say what you saw yourself, or does information from someone else sound like your own observation? Also check whether doubts and reservations have remained in the report.
State specifically which passage you believe is incorrect or incomplete. Ask how a correction will be processed and discuss any unresolved differences with your attorney.
If you do not understand the statement, report this before you sign. Ask for an understandable explanation and discuss with your lawyer what language support is needed.
According to the police, as a suspect you are not obliged to sign your report. However, failure to sign does not mean that the report is automatically unusable or disappears from the file.
Ask how your comments are recorded. Save the available documents and discuss whether a separate correction is necessary. A signature is not a substitute for careful checking.
Read the full explanation on the Criminal Law in the Netherlands website.
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