Our research into imprisonment comprises the following projects:

1. Life in Custody (LIC) study
2. Prison violence
3. Prison and beyond: qualitative research into how the reintegration process is experienced by current and former prisoners 
4. Food in Custody (FIC) study
5. Explaining the differences in prison population: the Netherlands versus Belgium.
6. Prison sentences: harmful or beneficial?
7. In work, out of trouble? The causes of inactivity among former prisoners and how work performance affects recidivism.
8. VReedom: virtual reality training for escorted leave among forensic psychiatric patients 
9. Dignity and respect for women in penitentiary institutions 
10. Normalisation in prison: a comparative study of normalisation in Dutch and Norwegian prisons 

For all ongoing research projects into punishment and punitive measures, please refer to the research page on Punishment.

1. Life In Custody (LIC) study

Project leaders: Hanneke Palmen and Paul Nieuwbeerta
PhD candidates: Jan Maarten Elbers, Sophie Martens and Francesca van Ravenstein

The Life in Custody (LIC) study was launched in 2016, on behalf of and in collaboration with the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI). The project has two main aims: to periodically identify the living climate in prisons and to answer research questions on the social benefits of that living climate. The Life in Custody study investigates how the living climate in prisons relates to behaviour, well-being and recidivism among inmates and the working climate as experienced by staff.

The Prison Climate Questionnaire was developed and validated in order to assess the living climate in Dutch prisons. The questionnaire was completed by all male and female detainees in regular penitentiary institutions and immigration detention centres across the Netherlands in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2024. Another national survey is scheduled for 2026.

The survey data will be supplemented with data from registration systems to obtain further information on background characteristics, criminal history, behaviour in prison, prison visits, institutional characteristics and recidivism. Detainees' survey data from some survey rounds will be supplemented with survey data from other informants, including personal and professional visitors (2019) and prison staff (2017 and 2024).

Research conducted into visitation in detention as part of the Life in Custody study comes together in the Dutch Prison Visitation Study. This study focuses on how visits from family and friends and contact with professionals such as case managers and reintegration professionals affects behaviour during and after detention and preparation for reintegration.

More information about the Life in Custody survey is available on the project website.

PhD projects within the Life in Custody study:

• PhD research, Jan Maarten Elbers: Reward systems in prison. (Defence: 27 June 2024)
• Supervisors: Esther van Ginneken, Paul Nieuwbeerta, Miranda Boone and Hanneke Palmen
• PhD research, Sophie Martens: Subjective and objective safety in prisons.
  Supervisors: Paul Nieuwbeerta and Hanneke Palmen
• PhD research, Francesca van Ravenstein: Mapping professional work attitudes: organisational commitment of prison staff
  Supervisors: Miranda Sentse, Hanneke Palmen and Paul Nieuwbeerta
• PhD research, Maria Berghuis: Receiving visits in Dutch prisons: a study on the determinants and consequences of prison visitation (Defence: 23 June 2022)
  Supervisors: Hanneke Palmen and Paul Nieuwbeerta
• PhD research, Amanda Pasma: Re-entry support from prison-based and community-based professionals (Defence: 11 October 2023).
  Supervisors: Esther van Ginneken, Paul Nieuwbeerta and Hanneke Palmen

2. Prison violence

Researchers involved: Esther van Ginneken, Dante Hoek and Rozalie Lekkerkerk

Why does violence happen in prisons, and how do staff respond? Research into these questions is funded by a grant from the NWO Talent Programme, Vidi. Previous research studies victims and perpetrators as strictly separate groups. This research identifies the various roles, how they overlap and the role of bystanders. It also examines normative assumptions about and meanings of violence. It look at the motivations and perceptions of the perpetrators of violence, group processes and how staff responses can contribute to the escalation or de-escalation of incidents. Lastly, the effects of various disciplinary punishments will also be examined in order to provide evidence-based recommendations that will reduce the risk of violence. 

• PhD research, Dante Hoek
  Supervisors: Ard Barends, Maarten Kunst and Esther van Ginneken
  Within this project, Dante Hoek is conducting PhD research into situational factors that contribute to the escalation or de-escalation of potentially violent conflicts between male detainees. She has conducted interviews with current and former male detainees and staff, and will use virtual reality to explore perceptions of conflict situations in more detail.

3. Prison and beyond: qualitative research into how the reintegration process is experienced by current and former prisoners

Researchers: Jennifer Doekhie, Rosa Koenraadt and Anouk den Besten 

Since July 2019, a revised governance agreement has been in place on the aftercare of former prisoners. Collaboration has been established between the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI), the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) and 3RO (a group of three collaborating probation organisations). Since then, much has been done to promote collaboration and support in the reintegration process. However, there is still little information on how this strategy is currently experienced by the people who actually go through the reintegration process. The perspectives of current and former prisoners provide essential input and help shape a successful reintegration strategy. The aim of this research project is to restructure the reintegration process during and after a custodial sentence from the prisoner’s perspective. The perspective of organisations and reintegration professionals involved will also be factored in. The reintegration process will be analysed using interviews with 100 prisoners just before their release and twice (after three months and six months) following their release. DJI and probation files will also be studied and focus groups and an expert meeting will be organised. A plan evaluation of the reintegration policy is also part of the project. 

More information in Dutch is available on the project website. 

4. Food in Custody (FIC) study

Project leaders: Hanneke Palmen, Paul Nieuwbeerta and An-Sofie VanHouche (Vrije Universiteit Brussel)
PhD candidates: Elisabeth Groeneveld en Bram de Heide

The Food in Custody (FIC) study was launched in 2022 on behalf of and in collaboration with the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI), alongside researchers at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Due to the great importance of high-quality, appreciated food and how it is provided to prisoners, the DJI recently decided to switch to a new method for purchasing food and meals. The new method aims to remedy certain significant shortcomings in the existing situation, in particular with regard to the quality of the food as perceived by prisoners and the associated food waste. When it comes to providing prisoners with food, efforts are made to ensure that every prisoner is offered sufficient healthy food every day, food waste is minimised and food is supplied in a simple, efficient process so that the prisoner receives what they expect each day. Another ambition – where possible within the constraints of the institution’s facilities – is giving prisoners the option to choose between a pre-prepared meal and a parcel containing individual ingredients that they can use to make a meal themselves. 

The FIC study was launched back in October 2022 to monitor changes in how food and meals are provided to prisoners. This study is designed to track, every six months, how prisoners in Dutch penitentiary institutions experience nutrition. To that end, surveys are completed twice a year using random samples from the entire prisoner population residing in all penitentiary institutions across the Netherlands. 

PhD projects within the Food in Custody study: 

• PhD research, Elisabeth Groeneveld: The impact of cooking facilities on social life within prison units. Supervisors: Paul Nieuwbeerta, An-Sofie Vanhouche and Hanneke Palmen 
• PhD research, Bram de Heide: Food needs in prison. Supervisors: Hanneke Palmen, An-Sofie Vanhouche and Paul Nieuwbeerta 

5. Explaining differences in prison populations: the Netherlands versus Belgium.

PhD candidates: Hester de Boer and Olivier Nuyts 

Supervisors: Miranda Boone and Sigrid van Wingerden 

While prison rates in the Netherlands have fallen drastically since 2005, prison rates in Belgium have grown significantly since the 1990s. According to the Council of Europe’s Annual Penal Statistics, in 2020, Belgium detained almost twice as many prisoners per 100,000 inhabitants as the Netherlands (Aebi & Tiago, 2020)). Understanding prison rate trends is an important topic in penology due to the broader information that these statistics reflect concerning crime rates, punitiveness, social climate and how the criminal justice system functions (Pfaff 2008). Boone, Pakes & Van Wingerden (2020) identify four potential explanations for changing prison rates. They assume that they are either caused by: 1) changes in the number and/or nature of the crimes committed; 2) changes in how cases are handled in the various stages of the criminal justice process; 3) changes in sentencing practices; or 4) changes at the backdoor of the prison, such as options to substitute the enforcement of prison sentences or to recall released prisoners back to prison. They conclude that the explanations are interrelated and cannot easily be disentangled, highlighting that research into prison populations requires careful examination of the whole criminal justice process. They also argue that in order to understand trends in prison rates in more detail, comparative studies on the composition of prison populations can offer valuable input. The proposed study aims to be the first step in this type of approach. A combination of data collection and analysis, case studies and vignette-based interviews will be used. 

More information is available (in Dutch) on the website of the Dutch Research Council (NWO) website. 

6. Prison sentences: harmful or beneficial?

Project leader: Dr Hilde Wermink

The aim of this project is to understand the impact of imprisonment on the subsequent life course of offenders. Imprisonment is usually the most severe punishment that can be imposed. However, what remains unclear is the extent to which prison sentences achieve the intended criminal justice goals. Do harsher sentences result in less reoffending? Are there effective alternatives to imprisonment? As well as identifying whether prison sentences work to reduce reoffending, this project also explores who it works for and how consequences can be interpreted. Large-scale data files and advanced statistical analysis will be used to identify the effects of imprisonment. This research project is funded by a Veni grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). 

7. In work, out of trouble? The causes of inactivity among former prisoners and how work performance affects recidivism

Project leader: Dr Anke Ramakers

The project has two aims. First, to investigate the causes of high levels of inactivity among former prisoners. Second, to examine the effects of various types of jobs and inactivity on recidivism. Previous studies have explored the effects of prison sentences on work situations and criminal behaviour, concluding that former prisoners reintegrate poorly back into society. In order to improve these outcomes, research is required to explain why so many former prisoners are inactive and proceed to reoffend. This project takes a theory-based approach and examines extensive, longitudinal datasets to provide answers to these explanatory questions. The findings will provide an academic basis for reintegration policies targeting high-risk groups. To identify the relationship between work and criminal behaviour, both self-report data (Prison Project) and recorded data on a large group of male prisoners (N=1904) will be used. This research project is funded by a Veni grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). 

8. VReedom: virtual reality training for escorted leave among forensic psychiatric patients

PhD research: Cylia Hendriks
Supervisors: Arne Popma, Jochem Jansen and Thimo van der Pol

As part of this project, conducted in collaboration with the forensic psychiatric clinic Inforsa Amsterdam, a virtual reality training course is being developed for forensic psychiatric patients who are currently or soon allowed to go on escorted leave from their facility. Preparing for and going on leave can cause much stress for both clients and treatment staff. This can have an effect on incidents (e.g. substance use, violence), future leave and therefore treatment duration. However, there is very little information on these potential implications and preparations for leave in the literature. For this reason, the project focuses on identifying the process of preparing for leave and how the VReedom training course could contribute in a positive way. This research project is funded by ZonMw’s Off Road programme and Inforsa. 

9. Dignity and respect for women in penitentiary institutions

Researchers: Esther van Ginneken (PI), Yara Abbing, Jennifer Doekhie and Anouk den Besten

Dignity and respect in prison involves respectful interaction among staff, among inmates and between staff and inmates. It also assumes that there is no discrimination, sexual harassment, aggression, violence or bullying. This project investigates how female prisoners and staff experience dignity and respect in prison and which contextual factors affect how dignity and respect is perceived. To this end, semi-ethnographic fieldwork – including observations and over 120 interviews with female prisoners and staff – was conducted in three Dutch penitentiary institutions that house women. The research focuses on aspects such as gender, power and sexuality in an institutional context. This independent research is commissioned by the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI). The full content of the report will be published, and further academic research will be conducted using the data collected.

10. Normalisation in prison: a comparative study of normalisation in Dutch and Norwegian prisons

PhD research: Jill van de Rijt
Supervisors: Miranda Boone and Esther van Ginneken

Specified by the United Nations and the Council of Europe as a key concept in shaping prison life, the concept of ‘normalisation’ is an important part of international laws and regulations. While it is very influential in Norway when it comes to shaping life in detention, it is less prominent in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, elements of normalisation can be derived from key detention concepts in the Netherlands, such as the rehabilitation concept and the concept of minimal restrictions. However, due to the complex nature of the concept of normalisation and how it is interpreted, its implications for policy and practical implementation remain unclear. The aim of this research project is to gain a better understanding of the meaning of the concept of normalisation in shaping life in detention and the realistic options in terms of practical implementation. For this research, experts and prison management staff in the Netherlands and Norway are asked to reflect on these issues. Using these two countries as references, the project may also reveal aspects of the national and local context that can help shape policy. 

• criminology
• detention
• imprisonment

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