NCJ Number
109080
Journal
Netherlands Journal of Sociology Dated: (1987) Pages: 102-115
Date Published
1987
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This participant observation study examined the roles and professional and occupational expectations of public prosecutors in the Netherlands.
Abstract
Results suggest that the professional practice of the public prosecutor is best understood in terms of three orientations: magistrate, government employee, and manager. Although efforts have been made to change the magistrate orientation by developing decisionmaking guidelines and policies and emphasizing the employee role, prosecutors still retain a relatively large amount of discretion and have been recalcitrant about relinquishing the magistrate and case manager roles. The great increase in workloads has meant an increasing emphasis on the manager role and the streamlining and swift disposal of cases. Thus, the prosecutor role has been shaped by past practice, prosecutor attitudes, and time constraints to a greater degree than by the official policies of the Openbaar Ministeries (OM), the national hierarchical organization headed by the Minister of Justice. In addition, the OM has come to realize that the execution of guidelines by prosecutors can only be ensured if they correspond to the views of the local court, and this has led to more decentralized policy development and implementation. 8 notes and 20 references.