Crisis in Dutch prisons due to shortages of cells and staff
image: Choinowski via Wikimedia Commons
Once again, there is an acute shortage of cells and staff in Dutch prisons. Miranda Boone, Professor of Criminology and Comparative Penology, spoke to Dutch newspaper ‘Trouw’ about the issue: ‘The number of prisoners corresponds to policy.’
Dutch prisons are bursting at the seams due shortages of cells and staff. This is not the first time this issue has affected the prison system. In the 1990s, the early release of suspected and convicted criminals was the order of the day, according to research conducted by Professor Boone and PhD candidate Hester de Boer. Cell shortages arose then due to rising crime rates and the justice system bringing more cases to trial. A similar trend can be seen from 2016 onwards. According to the professor, such policies put more pressure on prison capacity. Little thought was given to the consequences: ‘In fact, the number of prisoners is often cprresponds to policy.’
Since 2022, several problems have converged. There is less budget, prisons are outdated, staff shortages are increasing and the number of prisoners is on the rise again. Many places in prisons are occupied by ‘petty criminals’ with short prison sentences, while the judiciary's policy is to tackle serious crime. Short prison sentences are a problem, according to Professor Boone: ‘Three quarters of all prison sentences are for less than three months, while research shows that short prison sentences are not very effective.’
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Read the full article in Trouw (in Dutch, €)
The image above serves as an example of a Dutch prison. The article does not specifially refer to this prison in Rotterdam.