This contribution deals with the punitive aspects of the Dutch ‘Educational Measure Behaviour and traffic’ rehabilitation course (EMG), thereby using the criminal charge concept (article 6 ECHR) and the alcohol interlock case law as indicators for the level of punitivity. As of 2009, Dutch drivers whom (repeatedly) commit traffic violations may be subjected to an EMG. Failing this course can cause a driver to have his or her driving licence suspended. The Dutch Driving Test Organization (CBR) lacks the possibility to take any individual circumstances into account. The question then arises as to whether the EMG may have a disproportionate impact in certain cases. It is argued that the imposition of the EMG predominantly qualifies as a criminal charge, requiring an extension of the current regime of legal protection. It is furthermore argued that the dominant position of the police officer who makes an EMG report should be reconsidered.

While studies on trust in the police are numerous, this is much less the case for other policing actors. It is important to examine this in the light of the increasing number and diversification of policing actors and their legitimacy. Using a survey, 894 youngsters were asked to evaluate their trust in actors involved in the policing of urban nightlife areas: the police, door staff, and CCTV. Results showed that people tend to trust human actors of surveillance more compared to technological actors, however different (demographic and contextual) factors nuance this pattern.

By the end of 2020, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) will be operational. The EPPO will be tasked with investigating, prosecuting and bringing to judgement criminal offences against the EU budget. The substantive competence of the EPPO could in the future be extended to terrorism and other serious cross-border crimes. This article will first describe the background, structure and competences of the future EPPO. Then the procedural guarantees will be discussed and the problem of ‘forum shopping for evidence’. This problem entails that the choice in which Member State to conduct an investigative measure could be made on the basis of the less stringent rules in that Member State regarding, for example, the right to privacy. The article will end with a proposal on how to prevent forum shopping for evidence.

This article merely outlines the methods of Teylingereind with respect to youth and young adult suspects who are difficult to examine, based on five cases. By collecting and combining data about this group from a range of different perspectives, better insight about the specific person was obtained in each of the cases as described. When it is possible to describe specific behavioural patterns, statements could be made about freedom of behavioural choices, danger of recidivism, and advice about the most appropriate legal framework. In this way, when there are serious concerns about the developmental course of youth and young adults who are not willing to cooperate in diagnostic research pro Justitia, clinical observation is of added value to the judge.

A comparative legal research between Dutch and Belgian closed juvenile detention centres, focused on the internal legal status

The Life In Custody-study is a large scale, prospective panel study, aimed to examine the quality of prison life in The Netherlands. This paper describes the LIC-study by giving a detailed overview of the data collection procedure, and strategies to optimize response, and presents the first nationwide results on prison climate in The Netherlands. Results show that the data collection procedures utilized were successful in obtaining a high response rate (which was an exceptional 81%) and reaching a representative group of prisoners. Furthermore, results show that the perceptions of prison climate vary across prison regimes, and to a lesser extent across age groups and time spent in detention.

This article addresses the role of parents and girlfriends in the process of giving up crime. It presents findings from a longitudinal study of 81 young recidivists examined over 15 years. It concludes that parents played a pivotal role in this process, since the young men began to realize what misery they had caused them. However, these young men did not change their path in life because of their parents. We conclude even stronger than with the parents that it does not seem likely that a young recidivist would desist because of his girlfriend. Nevertheless, it would seem that both parents and a secure, lasting relationship could indeed have a positive influence in this process, particularly in the motivation to stick to a new path towards a more pro-social lifestyle once it has been set out on.

In this article, a substance use management program is presented that is applicable to clients who lack any realistic prognosis of reaching any form of sustainable abstinence. The aim of this program is to optimize the client’s quality of life and safety, and to reduce the risk of criminal behavior. The concept of directed substance use is introduced and explained. Practical guidelines as to how directed substance use should be practiced are provided.

In 2016 an independent review into a deadly ex-partner stalking case¹xEenhoorn Commission. (2016). Conclusies en aanbevelingen: Onderzoeksrapport TweeSteden. identified a number of structural problems in the police’s approach to stalking cases. Police struggle to accurately and effectively assess and respond to stalking cases because of several reasons. Police often fail to identify stalking by focusing too much on single incidents, missing the pattern of behaviours that constitute stalking. Investigations also focus on the criminal offence of stalking, with police waiting to take action until a particular threshold is reached. There is a lack of knowledge about stalking in general and risk factors associated with stalking in particular, which means the victim’s safety can be at stake if adequate security measures are not taken. These findings led to the development of a new structured response to ex-partner stalking cases, which consists of an automated query, case screening and prioritisation with the SASH²xMcEwan, T. E., Strand, S., MacKenzie, R. D., & James, D. V. (2015). Screening Assessment for Stalking and Harassment (SASH)., case management together with partner agencies and improved training for police officers who are handling stalking cases. Victim safety must always be the first priority.

Noten

• * Bianca Voerman en Cleo Brandt zijn beiden recherchepsycholoog bij de Landelijke Eenheid van de Nationale Politie.

• 1 Eenhoorn Commission. (2016). Conclusies en aanbevelingen: Onderzoeksrapport TweeSteden.

• 2 McEwan, T. E., Strand, S., MacKenzie, R. D., & James, D. V. (2015). Screening Assessment for Stalking and Harassment (SASH).

According to article 13b of the Dutch Drug Act, the mayor is authorized to close homes and buildings in case of violation of this act. The closure of these homes and buildings is considered as an administrative sanction with no punitive aim. However, in certain cases it is possible that the application of this sanction could to be considered as a criminal charge. If so, this might have consequences for a possible criminal prosecution, because of the concept that no legal action can be instituted twice for the same cause (ne bis in idem-principle). This could lead to the situation that the Dutch Public Prosecution Service might lose its right to prosecute. In the combat of ‘undermining criminality’ this would be a major upset.

This article reports briefly on research into the relationship between Twitter use by community police officers and citizens’ perceived safety. To this end, multiple relevant determinants of safety perceptions were included in the study: assessment of objective safety, perceptions of quality of life and social capital, risk perception and opinion on the police. The use of Twitter proved to have a modest, yet significant impact: followers on Twitter report a lower assessment of objective safety and a more positive opinion on the police. No direct, significant relation was found between the use of Twitter by the neighbourhood police officer and citizens’ perceived safety.