There are numerous situations in which human behavior may escalate; in which persons lose self-control, get abusive, aggressive, and cross behavioral boundaries they would normally not cross. Such situations may occur in crowded outdoor situations (public events, urban night life) as well as in small-scale indoor settings (prisons, service & help desks, psychiatric wards). The De-escalate project studies the utilization of dynamic lighting in preventing escalation and in defusing aggressive situations. In De-escalate, Eindhoven University of Technology cooperates with governmental and non-profit organizations, and commercial partners to develop and test mechanisms for de-escalation through light, for example, by lowering arousal, inducing positive mood, broadening attention, increasing self-awareness and self-control. The project aims to broaden our understanding of the effects of light in controlled laboratory studies, and will develop and test methods of de-escalation through light in situ; in two escalation-prone real life settings including Eindhoven’s inner-city entertainment area Stratumseind.

Both the traditional liberal view of freedom as absence of paternalist state interference and the nonliberal Foucaultian analysis of modern governmentality as fully consisting of behavioural management cannot provide an adequate explanation or justification of the popularity of nudging. Alternatively, the theory of interactive metal fatigue shows why nudging is neither paternalist nor managerial; it is better understood as a much-needed and very contemporary way of assisting the modern individual who is no longer able to carry the full burden of his own emancipation. Nudging is thus found unobjectionable, and even beneficial, as long as it enables individuals to act in accordance with the emancipatory norms they themselves adhere to, but not always manage to act on, due to interactive metal fatigue.

In this article the author deals with some issues concerning fraud in science. First, he wonders if this is a new phenomenon. After exploring the definition of scientific fraud he sets the inquiry to the prevalence of this phenomenon. Various recent science fraud cases are discussed, as well as possible explanations for science fraud. Finally, the author formulates a criminological-oriented hypothetical explanation, which opposes frequently heard explanations dealing with contemporary problems in the universities, such as the publication pressure.

Health care fraud and abuse has long been ignored or downplayed in the Netherlands. Increased media attention has put the issue more on the agenda. Health care fraud can erode the willingness to pay the compulsory contributions for health care among the population. Exact figures on health care fraud are still unavailable, although examples of fraudulent behavior are manifold. The risk of health care fraud is high due to the complexity and lack of transparency of the reimbursement system, the autonomy of the health care professional, the lack of adequate control, governance and attention for compliance in health care. What is needed to combat fraud in health care is a ‘zero tolerance’ policy. For this more attention to compliance and a change in the culture that ignores and condones fraud in health care are necessary.

National governments have adopted a variety of approaches to the protection of whistleblowers. This article refers to examples in Slovenia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and ongoing work in Ireland, the Netherlands and Serbia. It is not always clear what would count as success, but none of the existing laws appears to have wholly achieved its aims. The Council of Europe aims to establish some common ground in Europe by drafting a Recommendation which will establish principles on which Member States should draft laws and establish systems. This article considers the work done so far on the draft Recommendation, discusses some of the most important and problematic aspects, and suggests improvements.

Since 1995 the influx of labour migrants in the Netherlands has increased steadily from over 10.000 in 1995 to around 47.000 in 2011. As a consequence, from 2007, searching a job is the main migration motive of non-Dutch immigrants to migrate to the Netherlands. On average, one third of all labour migrants were women. Explanations for the fact that a minority of the labour migrants coming to the Netherlands are women can be derived from the literature. Possible reasons are gender patterns (in the Netherlands and/or the countries of origin) and differences in the personal networks of men and women. In addition, the Dutch labour migration policy, and in particular the conditions applying to labour migrants (in terms of education and employment sector) as well as the restriction on the right of family members of labour migrants to work in the Netherlands, may limit the influx of female labour migrants.

The Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice intends to change legislation enabling long-term community supervision. Since it initially focused on sex offenders, the main focus of this article is on effectiveness of supervision programs and legislation for this group. Supervision programs that combine elements of control and treatment, guidance or social support are found to be the most effective in reducing reoffending. In addition, possible underlying mechanisms of effective supervision, such as social support, electronic supervision and treatment, are elaborated upon. Dutch initiatives are partially shaped by these elements, although up to this date their effects on reoffending have not yet been determined. The effects of legislation that enables supervision are more differentiated than expected, and their practical applicability is found to be crucial. In conclusion, aspects concerning (dynamic) risk assessment, balancing community and offender interests, and tailoring supervision to subgroups are discussed. Study results could be of use to further shape and refine upcoming legislation on long-term supervision.

Since 1988 the Dutch entrustment order for dangerous mentally disordered offenders (TBS) is organised around three basic principles: treatment, legal protection and social security. In 2006 the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission ‘Visser’ reviewed the TBS order and made seventeen recommendations. This article seeks to investigate to what extent the implementation of these recommendations contributed to developments like the increasing restraints on leave permits and a lengthened average stay. Since 2006 there has been a strong emphasis on security. For a balanced execution of the TBS order more attention is needed for treatment and legal protection.

The economic crisis in the Netherlands forces the Ministry of Security and Justice to cut expenses. In the forensic psychiatric sector, the main savings are expected from reducing the length of stay of forensic psychiatric patients (TBS-patients) in high security hospitals. Currently, over 70% of all TBS-patients do not reach the now set goal of successfully terminating their treatment program within eight years. The present article questions whether it is plausible that this goal will be reached. Research has shown that there are several possible measures that can be undertaken to reduce the length of stay. Examples of these are identifying subgroups of patients who take particularly long to complete their treatment and setting up interventions for those patients, reducing the focus on risks in society and in forensic practice, and the inclusion of protective factors in risk assessment. These factors may help in finding a way out of the crisis.

Policies within forensic psychiatry can be characterized by the on-going search for balance between the interests of stakeholders. These interests vary in a lot of cases. The interest of society, the patient and the professional differs within a complex framework of political, ethical and juridical guidelines and scientific evidence. These differences are illustrated from a management’s point of view by describing the treatment issues in regard to forensic psychiatric inpatients with substance abuse disorders. Treatment policies on drug use during treatment balance between treatment guidelines and restrictive measures. These restrictions have to be adjusted to the necessary treatment programmes for developing new pro social lifestyles. The treatment policy on relapse and leave should balance between patient needs and the needs of society. The result of this interesting but also challenging and complex quest depends on the sensitivity of stakeholders for the interests of the others.

The organization and execution of forensic care in the Netherlands has changed considerably over the last six years. In this paper the authors define forensic care as all mental health care for adults under the criminal law, including care for the intellectual disabled, and addiction care. Before 2007 the Ministry of Security and Justice sole responsibility was the financing and execution of the measure detention under a hospital order (the so-called TBS-measure). All other forms of forensic care were then provided under the responsibility of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports. Nowadays, the Ministry of Security and Justice is responsible for all forensic care. The main reasons for this change were the increase observed in the number of patients detained under a hospital order and an increase in the length of stay necessary for the successful completion of the treatment, which resulted in an overload of the TBS-system, an observed lack of care possibilities for the detained, and a lack of transition between forensic and regular care.

Several policy measures have recently been undertaken to enhance resilience in Dutch police officers. The author of this article argues that these initiatives rely on false beliefs about the stressful nature of police work. Police officers are often exposed to traumatic or otherwise stressful events, but this does not necessarily render them at an increased risk of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other (trauma-related) psychosocial problems. After a discussion of empirical studies which support his view, he speculates that these false beliefs are grounded in the Western tendency to qualify stressful events as (potentially) traumatic. This tendency to medicalize stressful events is reflected both in the history of the diagnostic criteria for PTSD in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the empirical literature. The author concludes with pointing out a potential negative by-effect of this medicalization tendency: simulating PTSD (symptoms) for external motives, such as financial gain.

In Denmark fire fighting is a responsibility of the local authorities, but since nearly a century communities have the possibility to outsource these duties to private companies. Falck is the dominant player on this private market. The same goes for other emergency services. The author describes the story of its founder Sophus Falck, the historical roots of Falck and how the company achieved the status of a reliable partner for the authorities. The legal basis for private firms in fire fighting is discussed as well as costs and quality of the services in an international perspective. The author concludes that Falck is a typical Danish phenomenon and the Danish model cannot be copied by other countries without restriction. At the same time the Danish experience learns that market competition may have a positive effect on the cost efficiency of fire fighting.

The period of austerity which most of Europe is now experiencing is for the first time impacting on law and orders services, particularly the police service. This article gives an overview of the debate in England and Wales on the decision of the Coalition government to cut 20% to police spending and police numbers. An important instrument to reach this goal is the private outsourcing of tasks performed in the back office. The author discusses the public views on the performance and reliability of private security companies. Also the high rise of public police expenses are discussed against the background of declining crime levels.

During childhood, a child is entitled to receive special care and assistance. The child’s best interest should be a primary objective. The Dutch government has an obligation to guarantee the children rights. But do the closed youth care accommodations meet the requirements as stated in the International Child Rights Convention, as far as deprivation of liberty and treatment under coercion are concerned? The study concluded that some closed youth care institutions do not meet the requirements as stated in the above mentioned Convention. There is often no possibility of free expression, physical complaints may not be taken seriously, an adequate standard of living is not always provided and the level of education is often too low. Most of the minors indicate that they are bored during their stay in the accommodations. On this basis, limiting the fundamental rights of these youngsters is currently surrounded with inadequate guarantees.

Dutch detention law seems to meet all standards of the normative European Prison Rules. There is however no reason for self-satisfaction, because other relevant international standards have so far received little attention. The author discusses the Bangkok Rules, the Istanbul Protocol, the Declaration of Malta on Hunger Strikers and the European Code of Ethics for Prison Staff. All of these documents give rise to adaptations or additions of existing Dutch penitentiary law. The author suggests that it would be best to develop a new general detention law containing basic norms for the treatment of everyone deprived of his freedom, irrespective of the detention’s legal title.