NCJ Number
141301
Date Published
1993
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Rising juvenile delinquency rates and increasing pressure on the prison system led to the introduction of alternatives sanctions for delinquents in the Netherlands in the 1980's.
Abstract
In 1983, a working party formed by the Minister of Justice developed ideas for two types of alternatives sanctions, work projects and training projects. These projects were designed to promote a more educational and pedagogically oriented juvenile justice system. Several conditions were attached to the use of alternative sanctions: they should only be imposed in cases where criminal procedures would have been started, they should be proposed by the offender or his attorney, they should last up to 150 hours, they could be imposed by the public prosecutor or by the juvenile judge, and they could be applied to all types of offense. Any work or training projects not properly completed would be reported to the judicial authorities; in those cases, offenders could be prosecuted and given a traditional penal sanction. After the experimental program had operated for 2 years, it was extended to all Dutch court districts. Since then, other developments in alternative sanctions have included intensive intermediate treatment and Halt, a program for juveniles suspected of vandalism. Program assessments have found that most alternative sanctions replace suspended sentences or fines in combination with suspended sentences. While many juveniles placed in alternative sanction programs do reoffend, they do so in a less frequent, slower, and less serious manner than those juveniles who receive traditional sanctions. 5 tables and 12 references