The ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp are among the main European ports of entry for the import and further distribution of cocaine. Earlier research underlines the interchangeability of these ports regarding the criminal networks trafficking cocaine into Europe. In this contribution, the interchange­ability of these European sea ports regarding cocaine trafficking is questioned. Based on empirical research, and applying the routine activity approach, the Port of Rotterdam and the Port of Antwerp are compared with respect to their physical characteristics, the potential, motivated offenders, as well as the existing public and private security measures.

In recent years, the authorities have dismantled several encrypted phone providers. These providers stored millions of messages about covert activities that were overtly exchanged between criminals. This type of communication offers a unique insight into serious organized crime and the people involved. Based on one such intercepted encrypted phone network, called PGP-Safe, we carried out a social network analysis on the Dutch-speaking synthetic drug market. Three findings stand out. Firstly, three-quarters of all accounts (N=4,158) are interconnected in a giant component, resulting in a criminal small-world effect. Secondly, the network appears to be robust. As a consequence, the removal of central accounts will hardly have any impact on the network as a whole. Thirdly, the majority of the accounts within the synthetic drug market is involved in poly-drug trafficking. The Dutch synthetic drug market is much more closely intertwined with other drug markets than is commonly known.

This paper concerns the question whether in the period 2011-2017 displacement effects occurred from the Netherlands to Belgium in the context of synthetic drugs production, cannabis cultivation, and retail of illicit drugs, and if so, how these may be explained. We conclude that displacement took place in modi operandi of retail drug dealers. This is explained foremost by the policy of banning non-residents from Dutch coffeeshops in border region municipalities. Dealers and traffickers responded by switching to local distribution in Belgium as well as deliveries by drug couriers. The synthetic drugs and cannabis cultivation markets show minor changes in modi operandi, but no changes occurred in choosing production locations. Displacement effects in the context of organized drug crime must be explained from a range of factors. Reality is therefore more complex than assuming that government interventions are the main cause of a balloon effect.

In order to advance our understanding of digital drug markets on social media, this article examines the trustworthiness of cocaine dealers on Telegram Messenger. Based on an exploratory netnography, we illustrate that digital dealers on Telegram Messenger use a number of sales tactics to attract potential customers, emphasizing the quality of the goods and service and (competitive) pricing strategies. These sales tactics include various signals that seem intended to appear as trustworthy as possible to potential customers. Seen from the perspective of signaling theory, our study highlights the ambiguity of these signals that, depending on the online observer, could both signal trustworthiness and untrustworthiness.

Criminology has traditionally focused on urban areas where crime visibly concentrates. However, since the 1990s, attention for ‘rural criminology’ has steadily increased. First, rural areas are confronted with partly different and less visible crime problems, such as environmental crimes. Second, public actors such as enforcement and other agencies are less present and ‘available’ in rural areas, and people on average trust the government less to provide support when necessary. This chronicle presents an overview of international and Dutch research in the context of rural criminology. The paper addresses cultural differences between urban and rural areas, high-volume crimes, gender-related violence, alcohol and drug abuse, environmental crime, and enforcement in rural areas.

This article focuses on the ways the NVU, Pegida and Voorpost - three far-right groups from the Netherlands - make use of social media platforms in the year 2017. Our results show that these extreme right-wing groups use social media to spread their ideology, to construct a group identity, and to call for (democratic) forms of resistances. In addition, our findings illustrate that these far-right groups seem to adjust to their digital surroundings: they do not change or conceal their extremist ideas, but rather manage their online content to ensure that their ideologies can be disseminated through social media.

This study describes the trend in victimization of homicide in the Netherlands in the period 1992-2016. Using data from the Dutch Homicide Monitor, the findings show that the homicide rate has been falling since the 1990s. This decrease is the greatest among male and female victims between the ages 20 and 39. This findings emphasize the importance of shifting the discussion about the general homicide drop to an in-depth analysis of gender and age of victims of homicide.

Illegal weed cultivation is increasingly perceived as an important societal problem. Most of existing research in this area focuses on the criminal organisations active on the cannabis market and the criminal profits that are gained here. The current study however focuses on the actors at the bottom of the cannabis market – the home growers – and aims at answering the following research question: what factors influence the chance of encountering an illegal weed cultivation at a certain residential address? In this study, the risk and protecting factors are taken into consideration on both the individual level (e.g. family composition and financial position of residents) and the neighbourhood level (e.g. social cohesion, physical disorganisation, level of criminality in a certain neighbourhood). In the current study, data of 401 illegal hemp cultivation sites discovered between 2011 and 2016 in homes in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, were analysed. Data from various quantitative data sources – like municipal data (BRP and data from the Social Domain) and data from the municipal neighbourhood monitors – were combined and analysed through a multilevel logistic regression. The results suggest that the likelihood of an illegal weed cultivation site is most prominently influenced by individual factors. Being married for instance seems to decrease the risk, whereas being divorced seems to increase the risk. The housing type also turns out to be of influence. On a neighbourhood level, physical disorganisation and the presence of other hemp cultivation sites in the neighbourhood are the only predictors for hemp cultivation. The results are discussed in the light of criminological theories regarding participation in crime, using the theoretical concepts motivation, opportunity, and control.

Internationally, research on the experiences of white-collar offenders with the criminal justice system and the consequences of prosecution and conviction is scarce. Such research becomes more relevant, as the response to white-collar crime has become more punitive and more offenders are convicted. This paper presents the experiences of the co-author as a convicted white-collar offender as an autobiographical case-study. In this cases study, the consequences and experiences during four phases (investigation, prosecution, sentence-execution and post-sentencing) are analysed on four live-domains: health, private life, social life and professional life. Such an approach could be a blueprint for further and more systematic study of the experiences with and consequences of criminal justice for white-collar offenders. Such study can shed light on the effects and actual achievement of goals of punishment for white-collar crime.

Fermentation production processes for biofuel lead to sustainable energy, but the fermenters can also be used to dispose illegal wastes. Although it’s known that the fermentation business is susceptible for illegal behavior, so far little empirical research is carried out about the modus operandi and criminogenic factors. In this study a crime script analysis (CSA) is conducted to map the criminal process. This analysis shows that the true nature of the illegal waste is concealed by trading without or with falsified (transport) documents and illegal blending. Legal traders operate illegal and form the crucial connection between disposers and end receivers. Criminogenic factors, such as complexity of regulation and inspection, European policy differences and the lack of profitability of the fermenters, make the branch vulnerable for criminal behavior. Intervention options are formulated per phase of the criminal process and aim at prevention or increasing the chance being caught.

The Netherlands are considered as an important hub for the illicit trade in species of endangered birds protected by the CITES convention. In this article the authors analyze five substantial criminal cases from three different perspectives. First, from a criminal business perspective, the cases illustrate that logistics vary from relatively simple to highly complex, but always require in-depth knowledge of the animals as well as regulations, to be able to keep the birds alive to make a profit, and to smuggle them to the Netherlands, respectively. Second, from a network perspective, it is clear that those who are involved in the illicit trade – suppliers, traders and customers – are part of a closed and often long-lasting group of people who know the trade. Finally, from a green criminological perspective, the authors conclude that harms of the illicit trade in protected birds are mentioned only to a limited extent in court rulings, contrary to what one might expect based on social construction theories of criminalization and sentencing.

This paper empirically investigates whether the Flemish local income tax base yield in 306 Flemish municipalities is sensitive to changes in the local crime level between 2000 and 2014. There are two underlying assumptions. First, in a Tiebout world, rational voters holding the local government accountable for the safety of its citizens move when the local level of security becomes too greatly alienated from what they want it to be (first assumption). If migration is due to crime, the wealthier citizens are expected to move first. Consequently, the average income per capita and thus the income distribution will be affected, which in turn will influence the local income tax base yield (second assumption). By confirming both assumptions, evidence is presented for a relation between changes in local crime rates and the income tax base yield of Flemish municipalities, occurring through household mobility.

Criminal groups have traditionally been the focus of criminological research because of the collective dimension of many criminal activities or deviance. However, what constitutes a ‘criminal group’ or how specific criminal groups, like gangs, should be defined, remains open for discussion in the scientific literature. This introductory article highlights a number of recent developments illustrating the blurring boundaries between various criminal groups as defined by both insiders and outsiders. In addition, it suggests that the rise of social media and smartphones is changing the structure and dynamics of criminal groups. Future research should focus on how these (new) criminal groups originate, develop and function, but should also address the role of the group in criminal activities.

This paper describes the results of twelve criminal investigations into criminal activities of hardcore supporters of a Dutch soccer club. The information from these criminal investigations consists of among other 74,246 transcribed, wiretapped telephone conversations and 643 pages with transcribed, secretly recorded conversations in cars (between March 2009 and June 2013). The organization and execution of these criminal activities (particularly large-scale drugs trade and extortion) is described within the context of the daily activities of these hardcore supporters. This context consists of regularly visiting soccer games (in the Netherlands and abroad), bars and the supportershome, and the subculture of hooliganism. The results show a criminal group using the opportunity structures related to hooliganism for carrying out criminal activities.

This study contains a qualitative framing analysis of outlaw motor clubs in Dutch newspaper articles. These clubs appear in the news as a source for positive framing to counterbalance the prevailing organized crime frame. The study shows with what rhetorical means club members are framed and how news media balance a criminal and a non-criminal image. In news articles club members refer to ethical norms and group values, and appear to employ mitigation strategies which take the hard edges off the frame and simultaneously increase their credibility.

In this article notions from literature on covert and illegal networks are applied to business cartels. Comparable to most criminal networks, cartel participants need to communicate in order to coordinate their activities, whilst under the risk of getting caught. Previous studies however show cartels can remain hidden from outsiders for long periods of time. Based on an analysis of fourteen Dutch cartel cases, this article addresses the question how cartels can remain hidden from outsiders for long periods of time. The analysis shows cartel participants communicate predominantly centralized and frequent. Moreover, the results show that not concealment but social embeddedness provides a strong explanation for the longevity of secrecy regarding cartels.

Eyetracking enabled the authors to study eye movements of 23 participants who looked at crime scene photographs. The authors measured the emotions elicited by the photographs, as well as perceptions of seriousness and the sentence that participants would give the perpetrator of the crime. Also, individual differences in disgust sensitivity were taken into account. Results show a positive relationship between disgust sensitivity and both the proportion of fixations as well as the number of fixations on gruesome aspects of the photos (the blood and the wound), emotion ratings of the photographs, perceptions of seriousness, and the sentence given. Implications, limitations, and future directions of the research are discussed.

The retail sale of cannabis in coffee shops is tolerated in the Netherlands, provided that certain criteria are met. Two criteria were added in 2012: the private club and the residence criterion. The plan was to implement them first in the southern provinces and later in the other provinces. This created an opportunity for a natural experiment. In an experimental group of seven municipalities in the south and a matched comparison group of municipalities in the other part of the country pre- and post-measurements were conducted. The size of the drug tourism, the number of visits to coffee shops, the illegal cannabis consumer market and the nuisance experienced in the direct vicinity of coffee shops was assessed. Robust changes occurred in the experimental group after implementation of the new criteria. Initial differences between the groups and variation in local implementation caused doubts about drawing causal conclusions. This article analyzes whether such conclusions can be drawn. We conclude that due to the broad design of the research it appears that the observed changes can be attributed to the new criteria despite the methodological shortcomings in the study.