Using data from judicial documentation on adult adjudicated offenders in the Netherlands, an actuarial risk prediction instrument has been developed. StatRec estimates the four year reconviction rate of adult offenders, based on a limited number of static factors. The metric qualities of the scale are good. StatRec produces a precise estimate of the base rate in the group of individuals with the same combination of background characteristics as the offender. The scale does not use dynamic and situational factors that may influence the risk of reoffending. Taking them into account only slightly enhances the predictive power. StatRec can be used to validate more specific risk assessment tools.

Based on an analysis of twenty five years of articles in Tijdschrift voor Criminologie, we describe developments in the use of research methods and tools. One of the questions is how and to what extent new techniques are adopted over the years and whether certain sources of data become more or less popular. Almost half of the articles were non-empirical, and of the remainder the majority primarily made use of quantitative research methods. In the second half of the period under study, the use of secondary data, collected and often processed by people other than the researcher in question, became much more prominent. Amongst other elements, international comparative research was scarce, as was the use of experimental designs. About one-third of all empirical articles were based on qualitative research. We give some suggestions to increase variation among the kind of articles published in the journal.

This article briefly outlines the origin and development in the past fifty years of institutions in the Netherlands and Flanders which have explicitly been labelled ‘criminological’. There are remarkable differences in developments between both regions. But in The Netherlands as well as in Flanders criminology has grown over the course of a century from a very modest phenomenon in the margin of criminal policy to a fully-fledged specialisation in socio-scientific and criminal research in universities, and a recognised qualification on the labour market.

It has been ten years since an overview on contributing authors in Tijdschrift voor Criminologie was presented. This sequel pays attention to the backgrounds of the authors, the content of their articles, the quotations and their organisational backgrounds. In addition, attention has been given to authors that have contributed most and for the longest time. The number of female contributors and entries from Flemish criminologists has increased, as well as those from authors with a specific criminological background. Content-wise there is greater focus on matters such as recidivism and life course, and topics related to violence, sex offenses and organised crime. A considerable number of authors have NSCR backgrounds.

This article first addresses the tension between scientific requirements and policy oriented criminological research. The article then proceeds to describe the historical development of policy oriented criminology in the Netherlands. This narrative can be divided into three phases: early history, the years 1980-1995 and the period from 1995. Criminology in the Netherlands has always had and retains a strong policy orientation. The growth of professional (academic) criminology is a relatively recent phenomenon. ‘Critical’ and ‘public’ criminology always have been and remain the work of individuals. The development of policy oriented criminological research in the Netherlands appears dependent on governmental involvement. The situations in Belgium and the USA give the same impression.

The primary goal of this article is to survey the various criminological study programmes in the Netherlands and Flanders and of the jobs students attain after graduating in criminology. The theoretical question posed is to what extent the enormous expansion of criminology over the last decade has contributed to the scientific development of criminology as a discipline and to better-informed crime policies. Though the answer to this question remains limited to an ‘it depends on how you look at it’ position, the author is not pessimistic. Taking into account the current grim penal climate and the fact that the criminologist is a relative newcomer on the Dutch labour market, the positions criminology students have been able to gain – with jobs within the police force, in research and policy-development as prime fields – give reason to be hopeful, if reflexivity and overview remain the primary educational goals and practical skills training is not seen as the ‘trick box’ for the ‘quick fix’ of the safety problem.

Fifty years ago Tijdschrift voor Criminologie, the Dutch Journal for Criminology, appeared for the first time. It has now developed into a peer reviewed journal with quantitative and qualitative research of high quality. Youth and life course criminology, research into organised and organisational crime, criminographical research, and research into violence are strongly represented nowadays. Changes in the journal reflect more general developments in criminology in the Netherlands and Belgium. In the last 10-15 years the discipline has become more internationally oriented and professional, and scientific backgrounds of criminologists have become more diverse.

Wim Slot reviews Violence risk assessment in adolescents in the Dutch juvenile justice system. Studies on the reliability and predictive accuracy of the SAVRY written by H. Lodewijks.

Based on a prize-winning master thesis in criminology, this article describes how the Rwandan Government chose to bring to justice all suspects of (crimes during) the 1994 genocide. Accordingly, it was decided to turn to Gacaca, the traditional Rwandan method of dispute resolution, in order to reach reconciliation as well as justice. A field study indicates that, when asked whether they think Gacaca can lead to reconciliation and justice, the majority of Rwandans think it can. However, six determinants of reconciliation have been deduced from the interviews. Because Gacaca can only have a clear positive impact on one of these factors – the need to meet – Gacaca can not be considered as an appropriate mechanism to achieve reconciliation in Rwanda. It also appears that justice is not a determinant for reconciliation.

This study investigates criminal trajectories of individuals involved in organised crime. It combines qualitative information from the Organized Crime Monitor with rap sheets extracted from the Dutch Judicial Documentation System. A semi-parametric group model is used to cluster 854 individuals into groups with similar developmental trajectories, preceding the organised crime index case. Four judicial trajectories are identified: an early starters group with a high peak in late adolescence (11 percent); a persistent group of offenders with crimes from early adolescence until adulthood (30 percent); a unique group of adult onset offenders (40 percent); and a group of offenders without judicial contacts prior to the index case (19 percent). Largely, suspects who fulfilled different roles in criminal groups (leaders, coordinators, lower-level suspects) are equally distributed over the trajectory groups and the same applies to different types of criminal activities.

This article reviews Dutch literature on collateral effects of incarceration on various life circumstances: psychological and physical health; social-economic status; well-being of partners of (ex-)prisoners; and well-being of children of (ex-)prisoners. Dutch research is predominantly descriptive and examines life circumstances of the prisoners and their family members during or just after imprisonment. Additionally, almost all Dutch studies, aiming to investigate the causal effects of incarceration on life circumstances, are characterised by methodological shortcomings, such as a lack of a longitudinal design or control groups. Therefore, it is still difficult to draw conclusions on the causal effects of imprisonment on life trajectory.

Maja Deković reviews Parenting and Juvenile Delinquency written by M. Hoeve.

This section contains announcements of upcoming lectures, conferences and other events.

Incarcerated women have specific characteristics, needs, health problems, and have different experiences and adjustment problems to prison than men. Based on a survey of 251 female inmates, this paper analyses the association between imported factors, deprivation factors and psychological complaints. Depressive complaints, irritability, and risk of self-harm were all predicted through examination of both imported and deprivation factors. Psychological problems before detention was the most significant imported factor predicting psychological complaints. The most important deprivation factors were treatment by staff and other inmates and environmental stress. Posttraumatic stress complaints were predicted only by imported factors (traumatic events and psychological problems before detention). Next to the importation and deprivation factors, this paper suggests inclusion of a third group of factors: relations with children and family, which may be an independent group of factors in addition to the factors related to the prison environment.

Stef Decoene reviews Ik heb niets beters te doen written by C. de Ruiter and B(l)ooming Business? written by R.R.J.M. Vermeiren.

Henk van de Bunt reviews Nodale orde. Veiligheid en burgerschap in een netwerksamenleving written by J.C. Boutellier.