NCJ Number
193943
Journal
Corrections Today Volume: 64 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2002 Pages: 50-53
Date Published
2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article details four aspects of the penitentiary system in the Netherlands: increasing cells, regionalization, partnerships, and cluster formation.
Abstract
Twenty-five years ago, the Netherlands had about 3,000 prison and jail cells compared to a population of 12 million—or 25 cells per 100,000 citizens. The system has now grown to 13,000 cells with a population of 16 million. With more than 80 cells per 100,000 inhabitants, this places the Netherlands on the same level as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. It has been argued that the country should institute some form of regionalization. In recent years, there has been an increasing effort to detain offenders in their own neighborhoods. In the past, it was the location of the crime that determined the place of detention. Placing detainees near there homes facilitates family visits. Not only were prison governors realizing that they were isolating the detainees but also the prison itself. In most countries, penitentiary institutions are not built in the center of a city but somewhere in the periphery. Nearly all the Netherlands’ new institutions are located in industrial areas, which demonstrates the fact that detainees are on the fringes of society. About 15 years ago, the penitentiary system began to look for partners. This was based on the belief that prison governors could not rehabilitate or reintegrate inmates into society alone. Prisons in the district Noord-Holland Noord have intensive cooperation with surrounding municipalities. In the Netherlands, ex-detainees are entitled to housing and government benefits. In regard to public management of the criminal law chain, responsibility lies with the Public Prosecution Department, and, in all cases, this concerns the chief public prosecutor. The Netherlands has 20 districts in which a head prosecutor is responsible for the crime-control policy. As a result, the penitentiary system now has 20 clusters. Each cluster is expected to know who has not yet been sentenced and who has served their time. Prison officials are satisfied with the results achieved at this time. But cooperation in the criminal-law chain is still in its infancy, and there is a lot to be accomplished in terms of operational processes.