Dutch Prison System Research Articles

Changes in subjective wellbeing of prisoners on remand.

Low levels of subjective wellbeing in prisoners may relate to mental health problems and difficulties in reintegration after imprisonment. The development of subjective wellbeing during imprisonment is mostly unclear. The purpose of this paper is to explore this development in a longitudinal study in association with mental disorders and socioeconomic factors. Subjective wellbeing was assessed via a visual analogue scale and retrieved at admission to remand prison and then again after four and eight weeks. Changes in subjective wellbeing between time-points were analyzed taking into account mental disorders and socioeconomic factors, which were assessed by use of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview - Plus and the Camberwell Assessment of Need - Forensic Version, respectively. On average, subjective wellbeing declined directly after remand prison admission, but differences between individuals were found. At remand prison admission, subjective wellbeing significantly improved rather than declined in prisoners with alcohol and substance use disorders, housing problems, unemployment prior to incarceration and in relatively older prisoners. Other related factors did not add significance to this model. In contrast, during remand imprisonment subjective wellbeing displayed an overall increase. For this increase, no predicting factors were found. However, prisoners with an antisocial personality disorder are more at risk of experiencing a decrease in wellbeing during remand imprisonment. In general, the Dutch prison system appears not to result in a decrease in subjective wellbeing in prisoners suffering from a mental disorder during remand imprisonment.

A Matter of Balance: About the Abstract Goals of Imprisonment and Ambiguous Tasks of Dutch Prisons

According to national and international inspectorates, considerable differences are found in the implementation of prison sentences within countries. This is not only problematic for the legal security of society and inmates, prison organizations themselves do not know exactly for what they are deemed responsible. Although key goals of imprisonment may be clear, complex ambiguities seem to be at work. We scrutinize the specific situation of the Dutch prison system to show how implementation differences can arise within a seemingly detailed regulatory framework. Furthermore, some international comparisons are provided as well as some directions to solve the ambiguities.

The Relation Between Living Group Climate, Aggression, and Callous-Unemotional Traits in Delinquent Boys in Detention.

Aggression and callous-unemotional (CU) traits are common problems in incarcerated delinquent youth. The present study was conducted to examine whether living group climate was associated with aggression and CU traits in late adolescent male offenders ( N = 156) in a German youth prison. A structural equation model was fitted to the data and showed associations between repression and reactive aggression and CU traits, but no associations between an open and supportive living group climate and aggression and CU traits. Previous research in Dutch youth prisons did not find a relation between repression and aggression, buta relation between a positive living group climate and less aggression. These different findings may reflect differences in the German and Dutch prison system. Implications for practice are discussed.

Imams and Inmates: Is Islamic Prison Chaplaincy in the Netherlands a Case of Religious Adaptation or of Contextualization?

This article explains the development of Islamic chaplaincy in the Dutch prison system and explores the challenges which the institution of Islamic chaplaincy entailed for the secular institutions and the involved Muslim community. The analysis is guided by two dimensions: adaptation and contextualization in order to describe how the religious praxis changes under specific juridical, institutional, and political circumstances.

Understanding the links between perceived prison conditions and prison staff

In the Dutch prison system, motivational treatment is seen as one of the key contributors to a dignified and humane prison climate, stimulating inmates to assume personal responsibility and to change their lives. Staff are seen as the crucial factor to attaining this goal. The assumption is that the staff’s work situation has an impact on how inmates are treated. How inmates are treated in turn influences how they perceive prison conditions. In this study, we will examine the correlations between work situation, treatment styles and perceived prison conditions by means of a multilevel linear regression. The results show that a good work situation for prison staff is a precondition for practicing an active approach to inmates. In addition, inmates are more satisfied with the prison conditions if the various treatment styles are thoroughly applied. A balance between providing support and structure for inmates appears to be very important. Motivational treatment proves to be significantly correlated to the inmates’ satisfaction regarding prison conditions.

A Method to Deal with Dissimilar Circumstances of Public Organizations in Performance Comparisons: Evidence from Dutch Prisons

What are the methodological requirements of performance measures? To what extent can managers influence performance scores and do they have similar organizational circumstances? What is needed for sound and fair comparisons between organizations? In this article, a step-by-step plan for performance comparisons between organizations is proposed in which both administrative and methodological challenges are addressed. The plan is illustrated with two performance measures derived from the Dutch prison system. Performance analysts may use the plan to analyze performance of public organizations.

The Influence of Prison Staff on Inmate Conditions: A Multilevel Approach to Staff and Inmate Surveys

The current study connects survey data of inmates and correctional staff in the Dutch prison system in order to describe and explain the impact of staff orientation and staff working conditions on perceived prison circumstances of inmates. Importation and deprivation theory are combined to test an integrated model to explain perceived prison conditions. By surveying staff (N = 1750) and inmates (N = 4673) independently within the same period of time and by afterwards pairing the results on the level of the housing unit (N = 173) using multilevel techniques, it is found that inmates´ perceptions of the prison conditions vary considerably between housing units. It is also found that staff’s perceptions of prison conditions show congruency with those of inmates. Another important finding is that in housing units where the orientation of staff towards inmates is relatively supportive, inmates perceive their circumstances as more positive. Conclusions and directions for further research are provided.

First Dutch national guidelines--pharmacological care for detained opioid addicts.

Heterogenic care of addicted detainees in the various prisons in The Netherlands triggered the National Agency of Correctional Institutions of the Ministry of Justice, to order the Dutch Institute for Health Care Improvement (CBO) to formulate the first national guideline titled 'Pharmacological care for detained addicts'. This article presents the content of this guideline, which mainly focuses on opioid-dependent addicts. In The Netherlands, approximately 50% of the detainees are problematic substance abusers, while again half of this group suffers from psychiatric co-morbidity. In addition, somatic co-morbidity, especially infectious diseases, is also common. Due to the moderate outcome seen with voluntary drug counselling regimes in prison, there is a policy shift to extent utilization of legally enforced approaches. Continuity of care is of great importance. In case of opioid addicts this, in general, means continuation of methadone maintenance treatment. Aftercare immediately after detention and optimalization of medical information transfer is crucial. This guideline aims to realize optimal and uniform management of addiction disorders in the Dutch prison system.

Demographic, Criminal, and Psychiatric Factors Related to Inmate Suicide

A review of 19 studies suggests that it may be feasible to identify prisoners with suicide risk on the basis of demographic, psychiatric, and criminal characteristics. The present study aimed to identify combinations of characteristics that are capable of identifying potential suicide victims. Characteristics of 95 suicide victims in the Dutch prison system were compared with those of a random sample of 247 inmates in ten jails. Combinations of indicators for suicide risk were also tested for their capability of identifying 209 suicides in U.S. jails and 279 prison suicides in England and Wales. A combination of six characteristics (age 40+, homelessness, history of psychiatric care, history of drug abuse, one prior incarceration, violent offence) was capable of correctly classifying 82% of the Dutch suicide victims (82% specificity). Less powerful combinations correctly classified 53% of the U.S. suicides and 47% of the U.K. suicides. It is concluded that a set of demographic and criminal characteristics and indicators of psychiatric problems is useful for the identification of suicide risk in jails and prisons.

In This Issue

In This Issue

Securing Safety in the Dutch Prison System: Pros and Cons of a Supermax

In the Western world, prison systems have to deal with the inherent tension between the need for safety and the aim to offer rehabilitative opportunities to prisoners. Conventional prison wisdom tells us that safety concerns tend to constrain opportunities for rehabilitation, while treatment programmes undermine safety. The small group of violent and escape‐prone prisoners found in most prison systems poses a special problem. In theory, two policy options exist in order to deal with this problem: (i) disperse high‐risk prisoners throughout the system, or (ii) concentrate high‐risk prisoners in a so‐called supermax prison. The Dutch prison system has long shifted between concentration and dispersion. In 1993, a supermax was built. This article explains why this shift occurred and how penal experts have dealt with issues of safety and treatment in this new supermax.

Fighting for her Future: Reflections on Human Rights 1 and Women's Prisons in the Netherlands

Part of a larger study of race and gender politics in women's prisons within a transnational, comparative context, this paper is based on a series of interviews conducted with imprisoned women in the Netherlands. We argue that in relation to the US system, the relatively progressive character of the Dutch prison system emanates from its consistent deployment of human rights principles in structuring conditions of custody. We further suggest that such a human rights perspective, combined with strategies of prison reduction and eventual abolition can help to radicalise prison activism in the US.

Beyond the Crisis Window for Reform: Some Ramifications for Implementation

In the policy literature, crises are often presented as opportunities for reform initiation. Little is known, however, about the effects that crises may have on the implementation of such reform initiatives. This article explores how a crisis may affect the administrative relations between central authorities and field administrations. The crisis impact on central‐field relations appears to be twofold. First, a crisis may facilitate, if not induce, the centralization of decision‐making processes. Secondly, a crisis may affect the degree of consensus between central authorities and field administrations with regard to problem definitions and preferred solutions.This paper uses a case study of the Dutch prison system to explore the crisis impact on these two dimensions of central‐field relations. In this particular case, crisis circumstances did not facilitate a successful implementation of a major policy overhaul. We suggest that crises may offer opportunities for reform implementation, but only under highly restricted conditions. When these conditions are not met, crises may have perverse effects on central‐field relations which limit the prospects for the effective implementation of reform.

The humanity of the Dutch prison system and the prisoners' consciousness of their legal rights

Thus begins John Howard's report on Dutch prisons in his book The State o f the Prisons [ 1], which appeared in 1777. In comparison to other countries, Dutch prisons were judged favorably by Howard, an English sheriff visiting European prisons. His positive appraisal was not only based on the material living conditions of the prisoners, but also on the regime governing the prisons, and, in particular, the spiritual care given to prisoners. The Netherlands has always had a good reputation for its t reatment of those in prison. This is an important aspect and perhaps even the core of the widespread belief that the Dutch penal climate is relatively mild. Even though it is difficult to make positive statements on the mildness of our criminal law in an international context (for which numerous complex factors have to be taken into consideration, while, furthermore, absolute criteria for the assessment of degrees of mildness and tolerance are not available), one can nevertheless agree with Hulsman when he says there is undoubtedly a relative mildness in the Dutch criminal system [2]. Prison sentences are relatively short [3] , and penitentiary institutions are relatively small [4]. As a whole, the administration of criminal justice is marked by a spirit sometimes designated as a 'family-model' in contrast to a conflict model, the reconcilability of different interests is assumed to be possible [5]. An important contribution to this situation is undoubtedly made by probation, not only on the basis of its specific tasks (supplying the judge with information concerning the personality of the accused, and giving assistance to those accused as well as convicts), but also because of its influence on the spirit of the criminal process as a whole probation is a link between criminal

The Dutch Prison System

The Dutch Prison System