Crime and Punishment in the Netherlands, 1980-1999 (From Crime and Punishment in Western Countries, 1980-1999, P 161-211, 2005, Michael Tonry and David P. Farrington eds. - See NCJ-241530)

• NCJ Number: 241535
• Author(s): Catrien C.J.H. Bijleveld; Paul R. Smit
• Date Published: 2005
• Length: 51 pages
• Sale Source: University of Chicago Press
• Publication Format: Book Chapter
• Publication Type: Statistics; Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter describes and explains the trends in crime and justice in the Netherlands from 1980 to 1999.

Abstract

According to police data, crime rates in the Netherlands increased for almost all offenses from 1980 to 1999. Victim survey questions, however, do not always match police categorizations, and victim surveys are often too short or unstable to investigate these differences well. The system has become increasingly efficient in identifying offenses that have a greater likelihood of ending up in conviction. Sanctioning increasingly is deflected to the prosecutor's office, probably at the expense of conditional sentences. Pressure on prison space was mitigated through increasing use of community sanctions for less serious offenses. Sentence severity appears fairly stable for most offenses except rape, for which sentence lengths increased strongly. (Published Abstract)