The economic crisis in the Netherlands forces the Ministry of Security and Justice to cut expenses. In the forensic psychiatric sector, the main savings are expected from reducing the length of stay of forensic psychiatric patients (TBS-patients) in high security hospitals. Currently, over 70% of all TBS-patients do not reach the now set goal of successfully terminating their treatment program within eight years. The present article questions whether it is plausible that this goal will be reached. Research has shown that there are several possible measures that can be undertaken to reduce the length of stay. Examples of these are identifying subgroups of patients who take particularly long to complete their treatment and setting up interventions for those patients, reducing the focus on risks in society and in forensic practice, and the inclusion of protective factors in risk assessment. These factors may help in finding a way out of the crisis.

This article provides an overview of the development of the prerogative of mercy. From the outset, the king (now: the Crown) is empowered with this prerogative and the judiciary is appointed as an advisory institution. The author focused on this judicial advisement in the procedure of pardon. First the different competent advisory courts are outlined. Initially, the highest court of justice was the only competent advisory body. For practical reasons the task was eventually shifted to the judge who imposed the sentence. Secondly, the impact and meaning of the advice are valued by researching sixteen pardon cases. In approximately half of the cases the judicial advisement was acknowledged by the Crown. In six of the sixteen studied pardon cases the Crown deviated from the judicial advisement in favour of the convict. According to the author, these deviations are in line with the policy of pardon of the last century.