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In the 1990s, the shortage of prison cells was so acute that people suspected of committing less serious crimes were allowed to go free. The cut-off point - i.e. for being released instead held on remand in jail - lay roughly at the level of one kilo of cocaine. In other words, drugs couriers arrested at Schiphol airport with about one kilo of cocaine were allowed to walk free, even though they faced a four-year prison sentence if convicted.
The shortage led to a rapid increase in the number of jail cells in the Netherlands. In 2006 there were 109.1 prison cells per 100,000 inhabitants. That number, which does not include detention centres housing asylum seekers, is almost four times as many as the number of jail cells in the mid-1980s. In 2004, the taboo that prevented housing two prisoners per cell was also broken. The percentage of the Dutch population in prison became one of the highest in the European Union.
Prison population drops
Internal documents from the National Agency of
Correctional Institutions indicate that the opposite is now a
problem: empty cells. Since 2005, the number of prisoners has
dropped by at least 20 percent. Despite that, conservative VVD MP
and former public prosecutor Fred Teeven says the closing of
prison cells is "a bad idea".
He says the reduction in the number of prisoners does not mean
that the Netherlands has become any safer: "There
has been a reduction in opportunistic crime, such as theft, over
the last two years but there has been an increase in violent crime
such as wilful destruction of property and previous bodily harm
over the same time period".
Serious crime
Mr Teeven says the number of prisoners has fallen because
a 2001 change in the law put community service on a par with a
custodial sentence. The Dutch probation service defines community
service as the "unpaid performance of a worthwhile task" or
training that leads to behaviour modification.
Until 2001, prisoners had to request community service. Only those
who had committed a minor crime were eligible to perform community
service. The change in the law made it possible to perform
community service for any crime which brought a sentence of 480
hours or less. Such a 480-hour sentence is regarded as the
equivalent of eight months in jail. A prisoner is allowed to
perform just half of the 480 hours as community service.
Mr Teeven is vehemently opposed to this development: "Community service was meant to be used as punishment for simple crimes. It was never you meant to be used like this. You can say that criminals don't get any better for spending time in jail but they certainly don't get any better after performing community service".
Recently, Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin tightened the criteria used by the Public Prosecutor's Office when determining whether or not a prisoner is eligible for community service. The minister's move came after questions from the lower house of parliament. MPs were worried community service sentences had been imposed in a number of cases involving violence and sexual crimes.
Conserative MP Fred Teeven says the minister's measures do not go far enough because judges are still allowed to impose community service even if the PPO hasn't requested it. Mr Teeven says, "We will have to change the law to stop things".
Buffer
The conservative politician says that he hopes that in
the future, violent crimes will be punished by a combination of
custodial and non-custodial sentences. But there will have to be
enough prison cells to accommodate that hope. He says,
"Yes, empty cells cost money. If we shut
all the prisons now and crime rates soar, then we'll need those
prison cells again".
The National Agency of Correctional
Institutions emphasises that it is absolutely necessary to keep a
buffer and that not all 4000 empty cells will be closed in the
coming years.