Police are to introduce a ‘vulnerability assessment’ of crime victims, the AD reports on Monday.

From 2018 all police forces will ask victims a number of standard questions about their personal circumstances. This will help them determine whether a person needs assistance or even extra protection, the paper states.

‘We used to rely on police intuition to assess if the person reporting the crime could perhaps be in danger because of reporting it, or become the victim of another crime,’ Noord Nederland police chief Oscar Dros told the paper.

Under the new scheme, crimes can be registered anonymously, or without mentioning where the victim lives. Extra police protection can be an option as is making contact with the neighbourhood policeman.

‘We know of cases where things have gone badly wrong for victims,’ Dros told the paper. ‘Our focus has always been on the crime and the perpetrator. Now, increasingly, we look at the victim as well.’