This pisses me off to no small amount (as a Dutchman). Yes, the law says you have to be able to identity yourself, but you can only be asked if there's a good r

This pisses me off to no small amount (as a Dutchman). Yes, the law says you have to be able to identity yourself, but you can only be asked if there's a good reason. Not a lawyer, but asking for directions is very much not a good reason (even when not speaking Dutch). Interestingly the English explanation is much more ambiguous than the Dutch: "These officials [police] may not ask to see proof of identity without giving a reason. " https://www.government.nl/topics/identification-documents/compulsory-identification https://www.government.nl/topics/identification-documents/co... Whereas in the Dutch version: "De politie mag alleen uw identificatiebewijs vragen als daar een goede reden voor is." Translation: "The police may only ask for your identification if there's a good reason to do so" Typical. I would lodge a complaint: https://www.politie.nl/onderwerpen/klacht-over-de-politie-indienen.html https://www.politie.nl/onderwerpen/klacht-over-de-politie-in... (page in Dutch)