Over 700 students judged fictitious descriptions of court cases, in which the gender of the offender was systematically varied, as well as a number of aspects pertinent to theories that explain disparities in sentencing between females and males. The results show that females indeed received shorter sentences than males, and that this difference could be attributed to the fact that male student-judges gave women shorter sentences and differential sentencing for violent crimes. We found mixed support for the chivalry as well as for the perceptual shorthand theory. More research is needed, in more realistic settings, to explain gender differences in sentencing.

Gender, in criminological research, often refers to women. Although ‘masculinities’ and crime have been intertwined internationally for more than two decades, this isn’t so for Dutch research. Based on this international critique, this article introduces the masculinities approach in Dutch penology. Prisons are generally considered as hypermasculine settings (Toch, 1998), but this hypothesis is seldom explored within a gender framework. Nevertheless, ‘doing masculinity’ is an important coping strategy for male prisoners (Jewkes, 2005). This gap is tackled on two levels: (1) the conceptualization of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ and (2) a critical, masculinity-oriented analysis of the existing knowledge on prison life, prison culture and prison hierarchy. It aims to tackle prison masculinity stereotypes, since traditional penal insights aren’t necessarily valid from a gender point of view (Evans & Wallace, 2008). Therefore, we conclude by analyzing the value of masculinity studies for penology.

Since the last years there is extensive ongoing debate in Belgium about jury trials at the Assize Court. These trials are an example of direct participation of citizens in the criminal justice system. Hence this jury has obtained a special position in the Belgian administration of justice. Jury deliberations behind closed doors and the isolation of jury members from the outside world contribute to the fascination for this legal phenomenon. The element of secrecy also explains why there is so little empirical research on the jury’s functioning and the jurors’ experiences during the process. By means of interviews with former jury members, we studied the influence of lay participation in a jury trial on their views and confidence in jury decision making. We found that a positive evaluation of participation in a jury may strengthen their involvement with and trust in jury decision making. However, our research also reveals that jury trials may lead to some unacceptable deficits in the proceedings and outcome of the process. These results are contextualised in the broader debate about the jury and the demand for reform of the assize court proceedings.

In the Netherlands, the number of cocaine traffickers arrested at Schiphol International Airport peaked in 2003. In May 2003, sentencing guidelines regarding cocaine traffickers were redefined into a smaller number of categories (wider quantity ranges, less specified offender categories) with lower sentences than before. New guidelines allowed criminal courts more flexibility, and judges were expected to sentence cocaine traffickers more often than before in accordance with guidelines. All cases, at all four applicable criminal courts, against cocaine traffickers that had been arrested at Schiphol in 2003 were analyzed (877 simple court and 994 full court cases). In between 30 and 40 percent of cases sentences were not according to the guidelines (mostly lower), and even more frequently than before the new guidelines had been introduced. Experience as a judge (number of years) was not associated with keeping up with guidelines, but male judges sentenced suspects more often than female judges in discordance with guidelines (and consequently below guidelines). In line with American literature, personal characteristics of suspects appeared strong predictors of the extent judges conformed to sentencing guidelines. Female offenders were twice as often as male offenders sentenced lower than the guidelines. The same result was found for offenders born or living in the Netherlands, versus migrants and offenders living abroad.

Marriage is considered to be an important life-course event that can lead to desistance from a criminal career. However, desistance is far less obvious when offenders marry criminal partners. The aim of this study is to investigate what impact a spouse’s criminal career at the time of marriage has on persistence in crime. To analyze the relationship between marriage, spousal criminality, and criminal offending, we use a unique longitudinal dataset: the Criminal Career and Life-course Study. This is the first study that contains longitudinal data on the criminal careers of both offenders and their partners. Results show that the frequency of criminal conviction is lower if men marry non-criminal spouses. However, if men marry criminal spouses, their conviction rate does not differ from those who remain single. For women, on the other hand, marriage is related to lower conviction frequencies no matter the spouse’s criminal history.

This research aimed to describe the remigration of Bulgarian women who had been exploited in prostitution in the Netherlands. The difficulties they encountered during their attempt to reintegrate in their environment of origin was one of the main points of interest. Files of Bulgarian women registered as victims have been analyzed in both the Netherlands and in Bulgaria. Interviews were held with current Bulgarian sex workers, former victims of trafficking and several professionals involved in the wellbeing of these women. In many cases remigration turned out to be a temporary situation as many women returned to the Netherlands later on. Partly for that reason it appeared difficult to keep track of their situation after they (initially) came back to Bulgaria. Many women encounter the very problems that contributed to the situation of trafficking in the first place. This makes it difficult to change their marginal position: prostitution remains a well paid option if the circumstances that have led to their exploitation in prostitution remain the same. This does not necessarily lead to repeated victimization, but at least to only a limited difference that reintegration programs can make.

This article focuses on the differences in perception that appear when the English and Dutch discourses on anti-social behaviour and street terror are compared. The political and media discourses in the Netherlands focus on the migration background of the youth responsible (mainly Moroccan juveniles) whereas in England and Wales the possible influence of discrimination is stressed. The analysis of the two discourses reveals that although the problems in the two countries are in essence comparable, very different discourses have developed.

Starting a decade ago, police authorities in Western Europe have been dealing with (South)Eastern European gangs coming over to Western Europe. These gangs commit a large number of property crimes and are characterised by their high level of mobility. Yet, this raises questions as to how their mobility has to be interpreted: is it temporary, making them criminal tourists, or are there any migration mechanisms involved? This article is based on interviews with offenders charged with selling criminal goods (i.e. fencing). Fencing activities appear to take place either in Western Europe or in the countries of origin. Alongside these activities, their centre of social activity appears to be located in either one of them as well. This heterogeneity indicates there is little added value in combating the Eastern European crime gangs, because different offender types with a different background are involved.

This article focuses on the Madoff case which came to light at the end of 2008. Remarkable for this case is that Madoff could go on with his scam for a very long time. Failing supervision was not the only reason for this. Madoff’s qualities – disguising the illegal activities and his social stature – cannot explain the whole puzzle. The social network, a ‘secret society’ and the fact that people involved went on with it, even when knowing that ‘it was too good to be true’ are explained in this article.