The population of Central and East European immigrants in the Netherlands has increased following the eastward expansion of the European Union. Over the past years, a lot of media and political attention seems to focus on problems with crime and disorder relating to this immigrant group. This article describes a two-step study on this matter. First, by undertaking a media discourse analysis, we assess to what extent we can speak of a ‘hardened climate’ regarding Central and East Europeans in the Netherlands between 2007 and 2013. Second, we have conducted qualitative interviews with Central and East Europeans in the Netherlands, to explore their perceptions of the Dutch media and political discourse. The results show that this group is often connected with crime and disorder in the media, and that many of our respondents experience this negative framing. Dangers of this trend regarding feelings of discrimination, scapegoating, and self-fulfilling prophecies, are discussed.

The rule that a conviction cannot be based on the statement of just one witness, is codified in article 342 of the Dutch Criminal Procedural Code. The Supreme Court has recently demanded that such a statement finds sufficient support in other evidence and that sometimes the trial judge needs to specify why that statement is corroborated enough by other evidence. However, the Supreme Court has always given a very marginal meaning to this rule, by allowing convictions which basically are substantiated by only that one statement. The evidence supporting the story of the witness does not have to prove that the crime actually took place, nor that is indeed the defendant who has committed it. In this article, I propose the replacement of the rule with a well-founded motivated ruling of the trial judge on this subject.

A fair trial can only be guaranteed if a judge gives as much insight in his line of thinking as possible and if a judge is actively participating in finding the truth in a criminal case. According to statutes and case law a judge has a lot of freedom to show how he feels about certain things during criminal proceedings. A challenge to a judge shall not quickly be admissible. Still, a judge needs to be impartial and willing to review his preliminary decision/opinion.

This paper studies the development of the sentences that were imposed by criminal courts in the Netherlands over the period 1995-2012. Available data cover all principal sanctions: (unconditional) prison sentences, community service orders and fines. A decomposition is made to separate the gravity of sentencing (changes in the type and severity of the sanctions) from size effects (changes in the composition of the criminal cases dealt with). The gravity of sentencing is found to oscillate over the period 1995-2012. There is (as yet) no clear trend towards heavier sentencing, contrary to recent claims by Dutch judicial authorities.

Police agencies in Europe operate outside their domestic territory more and more often. Within the European Union, special attention is focused on the exchange of information and on countering organized crime. However, international public order enforcement receives less attention. The present article highlights the relevant legislation and practical opportunities applicable to public order enforcement in the cooperation between the Dutch and Belgium police force. In addition, the use of force and the principle of sovereignty are debated. Finally, recommendations will be given in order to improve future cooperation within the field of international public order enforcement in the Benelux.

Victims of violent crime who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can request financial compensation from the Dutch Violent Offences Compensation Fund (VOCF). Problematic with this is that PTSD is amenable for malingering. Malingering involves the invention or exaggeration of psychological symptoms or the attribution of such symptoms to wrong causes. If malingered PTSD remains undetected, the VOCF will run the risk of compensating damages which do not exist. The literature suggests that malingering can be detected by focusing on extreme scores on symptom screeners. The results of the current study, however, seem to suggest that this may not be an adequate strategy.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. Although thousands of animal and plant species are used for medicines legally, some medications contain more sinister elements; illegal animal or plant ingredients of protected species. What is the origin of this demand for rare species as medicine, who are involved in the trade and why is law enforcement complicated? This article will show that the illicit trade in TCM is a form of crime that transcends the borders of China and manifests itself in Western Europe. Various aspects of the trade are highlighted, including criminalization of the use of endangered species, western anthropocentrism and the cultural use of medicine, to understand this relatively invisible crime.

In this article, the Belgian system of temporary leave from prison is presented. The main modalities of temporary leave in Belgium are the prison furlough and home leave. Recently, new legislation has brought about a new regulatory framework for the release system, including these modalities. The definition of these modalities and the decision making process are presented.

Several reports and publications criticise the Dutch police for discriminating against minorities during stop-and-search actions. This article argues that discrimination can be found in the police but not to the extent that the critics suggest. Recent research on stop-and-search practices in a large Dutch city suggests that the police treat youth with a minority background differently but that they don’t treat them unequally. The article concludes with a warning against the use of the expression ethnic profiling, because it hinders correction of discrimination by the police.

The main question of this contribution is whether the use of ethnic profiling in migration control is an infringement of the prohibition of racial and religious discrimination. To answer this question, the regulation on migration control is analyzed and the trend of mixing criminal law with migration law is criticized. The influence of quota of irregular migrants who should be expelled and penalizing of illegal residence is studied. Taken into account the jurisprudence on the issue, the author argues that profiling based on race and religion is forbidden, which is also the case if nationality is used in profiles against EU-citizens.

By rephrasing and reshaping specific criminal justice and security policies, the Dutch government has been struggling for a while in trying to find its course on how to address crime problems in its multicultural society in a politically correct – non discriminatory – way. In this article we focus on government selectivity by examining the development of criminal justice policy in the Netherlands. To what extent does the government take a stand in favor of or against special – and therefore selective – attention for people with a minority background?

This article explores the ways in which the work of the police is influenced by ideas about gender. Even though there is a long tradition of doing research about selectivity of the control agencies of criminal law, criminology has hardly had any attention for this topic. The main purpose of this article is to find out the meaning of the theoretical concept of gender for the social control of crime by the police and to give some examples for illustration. First of all, the article takes into consideration any crucial aspects of the process of selectivity.

ASAP: As Soon (or Selective, Smart) As Possible is meant to be a form of summary justice, in March 2011 introduced by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (PPS). ASAP is meant to handle common criminality more rapidly and more effectively. So far, so good. However, the PPS seems to direct all efforts to velocity instead of quality. ASAP was established without interference of defense lawyers. Lawyers, criminal law scientists and National Ombudsman have been criticizing ASAP since its introduction. Values of legal protection, accuracy and sustainability are ignored by velocity. Nowadays, the PPS desires cooperation with defense lawyers in the ASAP method. First of all: it is not easy to climb aboard a driving train. Suspects must be advised and acquainted by lawyers, not by prosecutors or police officers. Equality of arms must be guaranteed. A quick access to the criminal file is one of the demands for a serious and active role of lawyers in the ASAP approach.

The Dutch abbreviation ‘ZSM’ literally means ASAP. In the Dutch criminal justice system, it stands for a response to a crime ‘as speedy, selective, smart and supportive for victims as possible’. The project was initiated by the Public Prosecution Service and the Police, and it also involves the Dutch Probation Services, Victim Support Netherlands and the Child Care and Protection Board. The goal of ZSM is to assure meaningful and fast interventions, based on quality and effectiveness for society, including suspects and victims. To reach this goal, the Public Prosecutor is situated at the front of the criminal justice chain and triages the high volume crimes to determine the best procedure for a case, in cooperation with the partners.

In the Netherlands, the debate around police profiling has been rather low key – until recently. Now it has turned into a heated discussion with a clear focus on ethnic profiling. This extensive international literature review aims to show that there is more to profiling than just ethnicity. Factors such as behavior and the vehicle someone is driving can be just as important as a person’s looks. The results of this study put profiling in perspective and level the playing field of the debate, in which the side of the organizations using profiling has not gotten enough attention until now.

In order to support desistance from crime and rehabilitation into society, the probation service has to adapt its service to the individual problems and strengths of offenders. As a result, offenders who have committed similar crimes but differ in the problems related to their offending behavior are approached differently. However, equal treatment of offenders by the probation service is important if their problems are comparable. In this article the results are described of a study about the level of agreement between probation officers about intervention plans. In addition, it was studied whether the use of an instrument for structured decision making improves agreement about these plans.