In Denmark fire fighting is a responsibility of the local authorities, but since nearly a century communities have the possibility to outsource these duties to private companies. Falck is the dominant player on this private market. The same goes for other emergency services. The author describes the story of its founder Sophus Falck, the historical roots of Falck and how the company achieved the status of a reliable partner for the authorities. The legal basis for private firms in fire fighting is discussed as well as costs and quality of the services in an international perspective. The author concludes that Falck is a typical Danish phenomenon and the Danish model cannot be copied by other countries without restriction. At the same time the Danish experience learns that market competition may have a positive effect on the cost efficiency of fire fighting.

The period of austerity which most of Europe is now experiencing is for the first time impacting on law and orders services, particularly the police service. This article gives an overview of the debate in England and Wales on the decision of the Coalition government to cut 20% to police spending and police numbers. An important instrument to reach this goal is the private outsourcing of tasks performed in the back office. The author discusses the public views on the performance and reliability of private security companies. Also the high rise of public police expenses are discussed against the background of declining crime levels.

During childhood, a child is entitled to receive special care and assistance. The child’s best interest should be a primary objective. The Dutch government has an obligation to guarantee the children rights. But do the closed youth care accommodations meet the requirements as stated in the International Child Rights Convention, as far as deprivation of liberty and treatment under coercion are concerned? The study concluded that some closed youth care institutions do not meet the requirements as stated in the above mentioned Convention. There is often no possibility of free expression, physical complaints may not be taken seriously, an adequate standard of living is not always provided and the level of education is often too low. Most of the minors indicate that they are bored during their stay in the accommodations. On this basis, limiting the fundamental rights of these youngsters is currently surrounded with inadequate guarantees.

Dutch detention law seems to meet all standards of the normative European Prison Rules. There is however no reason for self-satisfaction, because other relevant international standards have so far received little attention. The author discusses the Bangkok Rules, the Istanbul Protocol, the Declaration of Malta on Hunger Strikers and the European Code of Ethics for Prison Staff. All of these documents give rise to adaptations or additions of existing Dutch penitentiary law. The author suggests that it would be best to develop a new general detention law containing basic norms for the treatment of everyone deprived of his freedom, irrespective of the detention’s legal title.

All rights in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) apply to all children, therefore they also apply to minor foreigners in the Netherlands. Nevertheless precisely for this group a continuous fight needs to be battled to make sure they receive the protection provided by the CRC. This article provides an overview of the most important articles of the CRC where minor asylum seekers and migrants can appeal to. The article also stresses the fact that children who reside unlawfully in the country may not be discriminated against their access to socio-economic rights. Furthermore, the question whether fully integrated children should have the right to a residency permit is dealt with. Subsequently the Dutch policy with regard to family reunification is assessed alongside the CRC. At last the article elaborates on the tension between the ‘ultimum remedium’ principle (article 37 CRC) on the one hand and the policy concerning children in alien detention on the other.

Fifty three shades of grey refers to the radical transformation of policing and security in society from a traditional public – and foremost ‘blue’ – police system into a hybrid(semi)public and private policing system which is losing its dominant – and visible – blue character. Using the criminological concepts ‘police as an institute’ and ‘policing as a process’ the ongoing blurring of boundaries between different public and private organisations is discussed in the context of the proliferation of different forms of multi-agency cooperation. Whereas in the traditional discourse of the public police system a strong tradition of analysing the democratic nature of policing exists, in the public and scientific perception of the new, variegated police constellation such notions are still lacking, which contributes to the relative lack of political control, the defective democratic accountability and fragile human rights in the grey areas. The public discourse on the police remains too narrowly focused on the public police system. ‘Normal science’ of policing needs to break away from ‘police as an institute’ to incorporate new research questions and new concepts regarding ‘policing as a process’.

Academic and professional disciplines, such as organization and management theory, psychology, sociology and engineering, have, for years, grappled with the multidisciplinary issues of safety and accident prevention. This article examines a domain of research on system safety – the high reliability organization (HRO) paradigm. HROs operate in hazardous conditions, but have fewer than their fair share of adverse events. HROs, traditionally found in the domain of aviation and aircraft carriers, are committed to safety at the highest level and adept a special approach to its pursuit. The attributes and operating dynamics of the best HROs provide a template on which to better understand how safe and reliable performance can be achieved under trying conditions.

This article deals with possibilities for the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the Netherlands to learn from high reliability organizations (HROs). The authors draw a picture on the basis of information, gathered between 2008 and 2010. While dealing with mistakes or faults much emphasis is often laid upon a professional attitude, written handbooks and discipline as essential conditions. The experience with HROs shows that at the same time mental processes are needed for fast detection and containment of developing problems. These mental processes, heaped together as ‘collective mindfulness’, refer to the picking up of weak signals and the resilient reacting upon incidents. The authors show to what extent the Public Prosecutor’s Office makes use of these processes. The level of training and education and the ‘hands on’ mentality of the average Public Prosecutor build a firm foundation for reliability. Reflection and to what extent knowledge is shared seem liable for improvement. Adapting (elements of) the HRO philosophy may prove an effective way to foster the actual exchange and use of knowledge within the Public Prosecutor’s Office and thus raise its reliability.