Governing ‘undermining’ vs. policing drug-related organized crime in the Port of Amsterdam and North Sea Canal area: An empirical study of port policing an ambiguous concept

The port of Amsterdam and the North Sea Canal Area (NSCA), together, comprise a port area that is used by organized crime groups for illegal drug trafficking, although it may not be as frequent as in the port of Rotterdam or at such a large scale. NSCA’s port policing actors are struggling with deterring drug-related organized crime because of a Dutch governance and political narrative about ‘undermining’. Undermining is a conceptualization of organized crime that undermines democratic order and the Rule of Law. In determining a collectively accepted new definition (of the impact) of organized crime on our society by speaking in terms of ‘undermining’ (transl.: ‘ondermijning’), the port policing of drug-related organized crime is (socially) constructed. The governance of undermining does not always benefit (port) policing of drug-related organized crime. This chapter is an empirical exploration of how the Dutch governance concept of undermining influences port policing actors in the NSCA. We will show what they mean when they talk about and are policing against undermining. What perceptions do they have and how does it influence, perhaps even bother the port policing of drug-related organized crime? How does it affect multi-agency policing cooperation? These and other key questions will be addressed in this chapter.