This contribution reports on an ongoing study into the impact of the COVID pandemic on the rights of vulnerable litigants in the handling of court cases concerning supervision orders and custodial placements of juveniles. The research is based on interviews with judges, lawyers and other professionals in the youth protection chain and a survey among litigants. The central question is whether the handling of these cases should be considered acceptable from the perspective of procedural and fundamental rights. In addition, the procedural justice experienced by litigants is examined. The preliminary results, based on desk research and interviews, is that of varyingly successful improvisations with telephone and digital hearings, in which procedural and fundamental rights could not be fully realized. This is mainly due to technical problems and the complexity of judicial case management under these circumstances. The interviewees differed about whether the bottom of what is acceptable was reached and how often this was the case. The final report will take stock of this and draw lessons for the future.

This article analyses the legal position of Christian communities in the Roman Empire before the middle of third century CE. It will be argued that the treatment of this group, which has often been marked as unique by both public opinion and academic debate, can only be explained by placing Christianity within the broader societal and administrative framework of the Roman world. A comparison with the treatment of other contemporary religious groups is necessary for a better understanding of the underlying principles and mechanisms that collectively shaped the Roman authorities’ attitudes towards these religious communities.

The ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp are among the main European ports of entry for the import and further distribution of cocaine. Earlier research underlines the interchangeability of these ports regarding the criminal networks trafficking cocaine into Europe. In this contribution, the interchange­ability of these European sea ports regarding cocaine trafficking is questioned. Based on empirical research, and applying the routine activity approach, the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Antwerp are compared with respect to their physical characteristics, the potential, motivated offenders, as well as the existing public and private security measures.

‘Antropocene’ is a wellknown concept among those that are concerned about the Earth’s future. Nevertheless, there is a heated scientific debat about the start of this era in history and the name ‘antropocene’in itself. In this contribution it is stated that that debate is helpful in raising important questions about the desatrous influence of mankind on live on this planet. Criminologists should take a stance and address these questions as well. This contribution includes a manifest that contains points for further action for criminologists.

De begroting van de omvang van de schadepost huishoudelijke hulp leidt vaak tot verdeeldheid tussen (belangenbehartigers van) slachtoffers en verzekeraars. Dit is met name het geval wanneer de schadepost niet onder de normering van de Richtlijn Huishoudelijke Hulp van De Letselschade Raad valt. Dit artikel gaat in op de vraag wanneer het inschakelen van professionele huishoudelijke hulp normaal en gebruikelijk is, hetgeen als criterium voor vergoeding van huishoudelijke hulp heeft te gelden. Er worden – na een uitvoerige analyse van de rechtspraak – diverse handvatten aangereikt ter beantwoording van deze vraag.

The authors have taken a contribution from Frank Bovenkerk from 2003 as a starting point. In this text, Bovenkerk reflects on taboos in criminology. In science, in addition to independence, focus on truth-finding, a willingness to self-correct and organized skepticism, courage is also an important quality. Where Bovenkerk focuses more broadly on criminology, this contribution focuses in particular on taboos and requirements for scientists in police research.

Little is known about (former) partners of 1%motorcycle club members. Social professionals working with victims of domestic violence in shelters have regular encounters with these mostly female (ex-)partners. In this exploratory contribution we wonder what is known about domestic violence amongst people with (ex-)partners of 1%motorcycle club members and the consequences of the involvement of a motorcycle club for tackling this violence. Based on thirteen semi-structured interviews with social professionals working in a shelter, external professionals and (ex-)partners, the link between domestic violence and membership of a motorcycle club could not be verified. What this research does show is that safety is the number one priority in working with these (ex-)partners. Furthermore, it shows how complex it is to assess the seriousness of potential threat coming from these 1%motorcyle clubs. Further research on domestic violence in environments associated with organised crime and the cooperation between the judiciary system and social professionals is needed to improve safety and wellbeing for this specific group.

Hoewel het aanbestedingsrecht ten aanzien van niet-economische doelstellingen voorop lijkt te lopen ten opzichte van het mededingingsrecht, laten de in dit artikel besproken denkrichtingen zien dat ook binnen dit rechtsgebied mogelijk ruimte is om de aanbestedingsregels responsiever te maken ten aanzien van de maatschappelijke context waarin aanbestedingen momenteel plaatsvinden in Nederland en de EU.

In law enforcement animal assisted interventions have become popular. Unfortunately in evaluation studies often animal welfare is not included. The question rises to what extent this work might be harmful for participating animals and what alternatives we may offer. In this contribution we describe how robots have been introduced and are being used in the world of care. Might robots be a good alternative for animal participation in risky situations in law enforcement? We conclude by raising a number of pertinent questions for further research.

Racism is related to the process of ‘othering’. Individual people or groups can be described as ‘other’ by depicting them as ‘beasts’. In another form of othering accusations of maltreatment of other than human animals play an important role: awful people abuse innocent animals. Next to that concepts like ‘genocide’ and ‘slavery’ are nowadays used in order to describe the way humans treat other animals. All of this influences the debate on racism.

Internationally the term ‘violence against women’ has been coined. In the Netherlands is referred to ‘violence in relations of dependency’. GREVIO has critiqued Dutch government for their ‘gender neutral’ approach towards intimate violence, amongst other things by using the term ‘violence in relations of dependency’ instead of ‘violence against women’. This contribution offers a critical analysis of GREVIO’s point of view regarding Dutch policies on domestic violence.

Two major shifts in the Dutch policy have changed how social professionals work for migrants. These two refer to the change from a multicultural in an assimilation policy and a participative society where people are more dependent on their network or resilience for dealing with their needs. Based on our exploratory interviews with eight professionals and a focus group of six participants with a non-western cultural background we conclude that what migrants expect from social professionals and what they can offer do not match. It is due to contrasting views and cultural differences. This has a negative impact on their participation.