This article provides a short overview of art crime policing and gives some insights as to why art crime policing is an especially arduous task while specifically providing examples from the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK). The article focuses first on the detection of art crime, exploring why many crimes do not enter the criminal justice system. Here, the fact that art crimes are often not detected at all or, if they are, not reported to the police is discussed in some depth in particular with a view to art theft and forgeries. The article then addresses the investigation and prosecution of art crime cases in the EU and how they are facilitated and inhibited in various member states. Finally, the challenges and possible improvements at the European level are discussed and future directions of the fight against art crime are debated.

In order to improve the effectiveness of offender supervision many studies have been conducted into risk factors for delinquency. Evidence was found that debts and crime are interrelated. However, understanding of potential underlying risk factors in this relationship is limited. Results of an analysis of client files (N=250) show that debts among probation clients are highly prevalent and problems with respect to education, work and mental and physical health seem to be important underlying factors in the relationship between debts and crime. In addition, interviews were conducted with both probation workers (N=33) and clients (N=16) to get insight into the possibilities to adequately support clients with regard to debts in order to stimulate successful resocialization. Results underline the importance of paying attention to possible underlying factors to effectively supervise clients.

In Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA) a group of trained and supervised volunteers support a medium to high-risk sex offender in his process of re-entry after detention. Sex offenders participate on a voluntary basis. Circles have a double aim: the prevention of new sexual offences and the rehabilitation of the sex offender. Circles offer social inclusion and support for behavior change, and monitor risk. They are embedded in the professional network of sex offender after care. Through a professional circle coordinator relevant information is circulated between the circle and professional agencies, to enable adequate support and interventions. Effect studies show that COSA contributes to a reduced risk of reoffending. The model was developed in Canada almost 25 years ago and has been picked up by a growing number of countries in Europe, the America’s, Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Variations in the model become apparent and raise questions about the essentials of COSA.

A characteristic difference between administration of justice and mediation so far was the element of voluntariness on the side of the clients. Administration of justice however is, for the citizen who is brought before the courts, not voluntary. Recently pilots have been started in which citizens can turn voluntarily to the Court at low cost, and not far from their neighborhood. Judges will not primarily aim at making a decision in accordance with the law, but at finding friendly solutions. Does this mean that judges are going to mediate? And if so, how should this be appreciated? In this contribution attention is paid to certain aspects of this question. It is argued that differences between jurisdiction and mediation still remain. More than mediators judges must act within the legal framework. The extent to which they can engage in the emotional undercurrent of conflicts is limited. Confidence in the Court is from a different origin than trust in the mediator, and that also makes a difference. And finally, a judge is competent to make a binding judgment, which influences the way he or she is looked at by the parties.

For a century and a half, the Dutch police and the army cooperated in combating civil disturbances. It was common practice that soldiers were called from their barracks to assist in maintaining public order. However, to deploy the army against civilians raised fundamental questions about its legitimacy. As a result some Dutch police forces began implementing military tactics and using military equipment to do the job themselves. The high watermark of this development lies in the years between the two world wars, when revolution and civic unrest always seemed imminent. The post-war years were marked by the Cold War and fear of communist insurrection. Militarized units were always kept in reserve. Nowadays, the army still renders assistance, usually not ‘manu militari’, but on matters that require special expertise.

National and international security are becoming increasingly interdependent. The question is whether this leads to a certain level of militarization of the police and constibularisation of the military. In some of their operations and units, the Dutch police apply tactics, technologies and organizational principles that resemble those of the military. The police also contribute to international peace support operations and stability missions to train or monitor police in post-conflict areas. The Dutch army has been involved in some sort of interim policing during several stability missions and increasingly support the Dutch police in law enforcement operations by providing search and analytical support. Finally, as a police force with a military status, the Royal Marechaussee has acquired a structural and strong position in the Dutch police system. Although there is some sort of convergence, the authors conclude that the level of militarization of the police and constabularisation of the military remains limited.

The authors reflect on ‘Handelen naar waarheid’ (Acting on truth), an assessment of the state of criminal investigations in The Netherlands, which appeared in May 2016. This report, assigned by the police and public prosecution service and written by four inside experts, caused substantial turmoil in the police organization and beyond. The report addresses six domains: professionalism, attitude and behavior, direction and leadership, capacity for change, organizational structure and business management. The critical and transparent self-reflection by the police received praise from policymakers, journalists and academic observers. It also met with recognition and appreciation in the law enforcement community, in particular among investigators and prosecutors. In the wake of the report, a reform program was organized to modernize both the police and the prosecution service in order to increase the quality and effectiveness of their work. Such reform is deemed necessary because crime problems have become ever more complex and citizens increasingly organize their own (counter-)investigations. The authors conclude that in spite of many recent initiatives, truly innovative practices remain scarce. Also, the crucial ambitions to increase the educational level of investigators and the organizational culture are still far from realized.

This article focuses on the challenges facing Community Oriented Policing (COP) in an increasingly complex society. The authors describe how the Dutch police adresses this context through a new police organisation on a national basis, specified job protocols, intelligence led policing and higher educated specialists. Seeking for alternatives the authors argue that COP should be based on a problem centered approach which profits from the insights of local policemen and operational specialists. Adressing ambiguous problems will fail when only applying system logic. Instead, moral involvement and sensemaking are indispensable.

This article on intergenerational transmission of crime in families is based on a study of seven families of which at least one member held a key position in an organized crime group. The authors retrieved information on at least three generations (preceding and succeeding this key member’s generation) to investigate whether transmissions occurred, and if so, how these might be explained. Throughout the generations the majority of family members indeed have criminal records. However, it seems to be less easy to transfer criminal leadership in organized crime from one generation to the next. Leading a criminal group seems to demand qualities that are not transferred easily. Successful successors appear to be able to establish their own networks within the deviant subcultures from which they stem. This also explains the persistence of criminal behavior: both men and women select their friends and partners from these closed communities and seem to prefer for their social and love relationships those who have already developed substantial criminal track records. Organized crime families in North Brabant took advantage of criminal opportunities that were presented to them over the years. Particularly XTC production, starting in the 1990s, allowed them to step up their criminal activities from the local to the global level. In addition, they may have capitalized on a moral economy with sentiments of subordination present in the province of North Brabant, dating back to the seventeenth century, which resulted in a more reserved attitude towards authorities than in other parts of the Netherlands. Finally, law enforcement agencies have been generally slow to respond to developments in criminal opportunities that benefited these seven families.

This article summarizes the results of a study into new innovative forms of volunteer work which could possibly help the Dutch National Police to increase the number of volunteers. The empirical data were collected by a desk study, the analysis of five case studies and two focus groups. Three different themes were analyzed: mobilizing target groups, matching expectations, and formalization and institutionalization of volunteering work. Public organizations in general don’t realize enough the value of volunteers. Often there is lack of a clear vision, while more attention should go to managing expectations, customization, furthering the education of police volunteers, acceptance and support, guidance and support, recognition, appreciation and reward, and finally more room for volunteers.

The article is an ethnographical study of a program called ‘Community Governs’ (Buurt Bestuurt) in Rotterdam’s neighborhood Hillesluis. ‘Community Governs’ is a community-based program which goal is to solve crime and disorder problems. The article investigates the role of the local government in this program. Three different roles are discerned: (1) performance, (2) procedural justice, and (3) participation. The results indicate that to the residents of Hillesluis the performance by the local government is the cornerstone of ‘Community Governs’.

Law enforcement around the world, including the Netherlands, is currently experimenting with predictive policing: policing based on crime predictions. Big Data on past crimes and the help of sophisticated machine learning enable police to use reliable predictions about when and where the next offense will take place. If the effectiveness of policing actions is stored in the system, it can also predict which intervention is most effective. This is called prescriptive policing. The authors explain how these methods work, how reliable and effective they are and which associated risks can be identified. The authors emphasize that legal, ethical and organizational safeguards are necessary for a responsible implementation.

Early studies of female drug dealers suggest that women are marginalized, passive victims. In contrast, more recent studies describe women as skilful and competent dealers. In a Bourdieu-inspired theoretical framework of ‘street capital’, the authors suggest that the truth is somewhere in between. Female dealers can be successful, but they face more obstacles than men do. The illegal hard drug economy is gendered and favours men. In this paper the authors discuss how female drug dealers develop particular strategies to prove they still belong in ‘the game’. Four such strategies are emphasized: desexualization, violent posture, emotional detachment and service-mindedness. These are common strategies for all drug dealers, but the gendered economy forces female dealers to be particularly careful about their business and self-presentation.

Comparing an organized crime group to an ‘enterprise’ or ‘firm’ and its key persons to ‘entrepreneurs’ is only a small step to viewing its illegal activities as a business process. Yet, it took until the early 1990s before criminologists started to study the logistics of specific illegal activities. Since then, the Dutch police have adapted to thinking of organized crime in terms of criminal business processes and to erecting barriers (preferably insurmountable ones) to specific steps in these processes. Firstly, the police analyze logistical processes to find weak spots that can be targeted to hinder illegal activities most effectively, either through investigative action or by means of preventive measures. Secondly, law enforcement agencies consider such an analytical approach an attractive tool to explore the viability of involving other public or private parties in setting up barriers. The Dutch investigation authorities have used this concept successfully in the case of ecstasy production, by aiming at the small number of suppliers of particular chemicals and hardware. As regards large-scale (and indoor) cannabis cultivation, however, the approach is less fruitful, because there are no explicitly ‘vulnerable’ stages in the cultivation process. Furthermore, some of the intended barriers can be deemed rather intrusive, such as a plan to persuade banks to withdraw a mortgage if the police discover a cannabis nursery in a person's private home. This raises the question to what extent the police and the judiciary may call in other parties to help them put up barriers to illegal activities, instead of using the conventional tool of criminal investigation.

In this essay the author looks back at ten years of rule of law foreign assistance in Afghanistan. She first surveys the elements that make Afghanistan particularly challenging as a development. This is followed by a brief outline of foreign donor-assisted efforts at rule of law reform in the last decade. The features of law and legal systems in Afghanistan that are salient for would-be foreign reformers are analyzed. The concept of judicial independence serves as example of well-intentioned rule of law interventions that have not fared well in this complex environment. The author argues that better prepared international advisors with a better grasp of legal history and comparative law may have produced stronger outcomes. Ultimately, however, a pre-post-conflict setting constrains conventional rule of law programs in important ways and calls for more realism about what can be achieved, within what time frame and with what degree of sustainability.

Each of the more than four hundred Dutch municipalities is governed by an executive board led by a mayor. This board of municipal executives is formed by a coalition of political parties reflecting the balance in the general council of elected members. The mayor is a member of the board; he is not elected by the people. The mayor is officially appointed by the national cabinet of ministers, but in fact since recently selected by the local council. In the Netherlands there has been a significant rise in the number of forced resignations by mayors. From 2000 to 2010 more than fifty mayors were forced to resign before the end of their term. The impression that the mayor's position has recently weakened, is confirmed by case studies. The Dutch mayor is in limbo between being elected and being appointed. In itself this is a major factor contributing to the weakening of Dutch mayors in general. This might give more room than before to private reasons and micro factors causing mayors to resign early. Mayors wishing to survive, should give more attention to signals about ‘strengths and weaknesses’ of their position in a field of political ‘stakeholders’.