The External Monitor of Forensic Psychiatric Patients (EMT) aims to increase the knowledge of forensic psychiatric patients and the effectiveness of mandatory forensic treatment. In the EMT, five judicial organizations merged their anonymized digital data on (ex-)patients for research purposes. Data originated from the databases of the NIFP, DJI, AVT, 3RO and WODC. By merging this data, a larger part of the trajectory of a forensic psychiatric patient becomes known. Results show that it is possible to combine data from the digital databases of separate organizations for research and analysis purposes. To illustrate the opportunities of the use of merged data, an explorative study was conducted into a current subject. In this study, 218 ‘tbs-patients’ were included and several characteristics of patients of whom the mandatory forensic treatment has ended were compared with those of patients still under mandatory treatment. Suggestions are made for merging data files and for future research.

High crime rates among second-generation immigrants are usually attributed to the ethnic group’s social disorganisation and weak socio-economic position in the host society. According to the import theory, the causes of crime can however also be sought in their native countries or regions. Due to a lack of empirical data, this has rarely been tested, with Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands as exception. Ethnographic research among small groups of delinquent boys in Dutch cities suggests that the rural background or the character of the Rif area of its Moroccan immigrants may explain their high crime rate. In this article we examine whether this holds true when all young Moroccan migrants in the Netherlands are taken into account. Crime data from a Police Identification Service System (HKS) at the individual level are linked with personal data from the Social Statistical Database (SSB) of Statistics Netherlands, including their (parents’) regional descent. Logistic regression analysis shows that the current socio-economic position in the Netherlands is a strong predictor of criminal conduct, while the impact of geographic descent, directly or indirectly via socio-economic position in the Netherlands, is negligible. Based on this study, there is no reason to revise the common explanation of the immigrant-crime nexus.

The Netherlands pursues an active policy of excluding and prosecuting potential perpetrators of international crimes. In recent years hundreds of people have been excluded from taking part in the asylum procedure. Bringing cases to court, however, has proven to be very difficult in practice. Most excluded persons reside illegally in the Netherlands or elsewhere in Europe. A good overview of the grounds upon which persons have been excluded and with what types of crimes they are associated is currently lacking. The Netherlands – actually the international community as a whole – still struggles with a number of legal and ethical issues. International law, for example, does not provide an adequate solution for some convicted excluded asylum seekers after their release.

This article examines the relationship between the juridical status of asylum migrants (accepted asylum migrants with a residence permit or citizenship, still in procedure, illegal residence) and crime. We argue that a weak legal status results in socio-economic deprivation that can result in criminal involvement. Using both registrations of asylum seekers as well as police data about suspects of offences, we find that rejected asylum seekers that remain in the country illegally are more involved in crime than asylum seekers still in procedure, who in turn are more often registered as a suspect than accepted asylum migrants with a residence permit or Dutch citizenship. We also find that rejected asylum migrants are more involved in ‘survival crimes’ like theft. In other words: having a weak legal status increases rates of offending, especially property crimes. When studying the relation between social inequality and crime, it is important to take the juridical status of immigrants into consideration.