NCJ Number
101611
Date Published
1985
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This report examines ethnic minority populations (Turks, Moroccans, and Surinamese) in The Netherlands, discusses the involvement of minority youth in the juvenile criminal justice system, and suggests possible explanations for their delinquent or antisocial behaviors.
Abstract
In January 1982, foreigners (mostly migrant workers) comprised 3 percent of the population. Most have been in the country for 6 to 10 years, and most reside in the four major cities. The majority of Moroccans and Turks, and to a lesser extent the Surinamese, are in unskilled occupations, undereducated, often unemployed, and living in poor quality and overcrowded dwellings. Compared to Dutch juveniles, immigrant youth have proportionately higher arrest rates, almost always for nonviolent offenses. However, a comparison of police contacts in neighborhoods having large and small immigrant populations shows no disproportionate representation of foreign youth relative to Dutch youth in the former, generally socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Results suggest the importance of two cultural factors in the delinquency of migrant youth: those associated with their socioeconomic disadvantagement and those associated with their specific situation as migrant workers. 14 tables, 20 references, and a listing of publications available from the Dutch Ministry of Justice.