How do young people and police officers see each other? At this year’s Dutch Design Week, researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam invite visitors to experience those different perspectives for themselves. Their interactive installation features a large wooden wall with a door separating the worlds of police officer Marnix (42) and teenager Naomi (16).

The installation offers visitors a glimpse into the sometimes difficult relationship between young people and the police. “That relationship can be quite complicated,” says researcher Petra de Jong of the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB).

Trust in the Dutch criminal justice system is particularly low among young people who come into contact with the police and justice system disproportionately often. “That includes, for example, young people from migrant backgrounds or from families with limited financial resources.”

The influence of the online world

De Jong is part of a team of researchers from Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Leiden University and the Police Academy. Through their long-term research project In Search of Trust, they are exploring ways to strengthen trust between young people and the police.

Within the Resilient Delta initiative, De Jong focuses specifically on how online content shapes the relationship between young people and the police, through the project From Feed to Street.

The digital world plays an important role, De Jong explains. “There are a lot of negative posts and videos about the police online. This can further erode trust on both sides. Young people are influenced by what they see online. And it can affect police officers too, for example when they are constantly ridiculed in TikTok videos shared by young people.”

Dutch Design Week

At the 2026 Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, visitors are invited to step into these different worlds and think about ways to improve trust between young people and the police.

The installation In Search of Trust: Achter open deuren is free to visit at Foundation We Are at Strijp-S, daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., from October 17 until October 25. The exhibition is hosted by the In Search of Trust research team and the Erasmus Social Design Hub.