Organizing dog fights is prohibited in the Netherlands. In such fights, two dogs have to fight each other, sometimes to the death. The animal suffering behind this is enormous. Little is known in the Netherlands about the phenomenon of dog fighting, both from a scientific point of view and through criminal cases. In this contribution, we outline the world behind dog fights by describing how dog fights work, who are part of the entourage and within which criminal infrastructure the dog fights take place. Finally, the problem is discussed and the current approach by the appropriate authorities is discussed and which gaps can be discovered.

This article is a summary of the recently published study of Defence for Children - ECPAT: Sentencing of Sexual Exploitation of Minors: an analysis. The aim of the research was to provide insight into the penalties imposed in 2015-2019 in cases involving the sexual exploitation (human trafficking) of child victims. Another aim was to gain a better understanding of how the sentence was determined. A total of 145 convictions were analysed. This article first describes (the reason for) the research. Subsequently, the crime of human trafficking is briefly discussed. The findings of the analysis are then presented in a summarized version. Finally, the conclusion and recommendations follow.

The victim’s position in Dutch criminal law has been strengthened. There has been an emancipation of the victim in criminal law. However, not much attention is being paid on the role and position of the victim in the Dutch administrative procedure. This article explores the scope of what is called ‘Administrative victimology’. Administrative victimology is an empirical science that deals with the position and legal role of the victim in the administrative procedure. It is expected that this ‘new’ type of victimology will become more important in the years to come.

In 2014, the Dutch government abolished its ban on blasphemy, which had laid dormant in its criminal code for decades. Similar laws have been abolished in nine other jurisdictions in the West since an international campaign to this end started in 2015. This article first describes the tension between blasphemy laws and the freedom of expression. It then examines the Dutch position on blasphemy in its international context. This article argues against bans on blasphemy and specifically against a potential reintroduction of a de facto ban on blasphemy in the Netherlands. Moreover, it argues in favour of applying political pressure to abolish bans on blasphemy around the world as well as giving diplomatic support to those affected by these laws.

Rehabilitation of hospitalized offenders is a stepwise process ideally achieved through four consecutive types of leave: supervised, unsupervised, extra-institutional and a probational leave. However, in reality this sequence may often be deviated from. The current study was undertaken to examine the most common deviations and the relationship with how the treatment ended (e.g. positive/negative). File information of 422 offenders previously admitted to a high-secure forensic hospital was used. Deviations from the standard sequence are relatively common. Probational leave is often missing, and one in ten sequences contains a suspension of leave. The relevance for forensic and legal professionals is discussed.

Interprofessional collaboration in the treatment and supervision of clients in forensic mental health care is of great importance. However, collaboration between professionals within and between settings is not always easy. In this article, different forms of collaboration within the forensic mental health care system are described as well as the most important pitfalls and success factors. Finally, some recommendations are provided for practitioners, organizations and policy-makers to design and facilitate collaboration in forensic mental health care.

Prison visitation is important for protecting against social isolation during imprisonment. It is also essential for maintaining contacts that are important for life in prison and after release. It is therefore not surprising that both nationally and internationally important policy measures and scientific research have been undertaken on the topic. Nationally, however, limited scientific research is available regarding how many, how often and from whom prisoners receive visits, how visits are experienced and the possible effects of visitation, thus leaving many questions unanswered. Meanwhile, in the past ten years great changes have been made to visitation in Dutch prison policy and practice. Given these recent developments, both scientists and practitioners could benefit from an overview of the current state of affairs of visitation. This article aims to bridge the gap between research, policy and practice by summarizing findings from the Life in Custody study. This study includes a description of how visitation is organized legally, at the policy level and in practice, a thorough review of prior research on visitation and an analysis of the most recent national data on the prevalence and frequency of visitation, while considering important differences between prisoners and prisons.