Released from foreign detention: Examining reoffending rates among returning Dutch detainees in the Netherlands
| Author | Matthias Van Hall,Laura Cleofa-van Der Zwet |
| DOI | 10.1177/20662203211033793 |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Original Articles |
https://doi.org/10.1177/20662203211033793
European Journal of Probation
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/20662203211033793
journals.sagepub.com/home/ejp
Released from foreign
detention: Examining
reoffending rates among
returning Dutch detainees
in the Netherlands
Matthias Van Hall
Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), The Netherlands
Laura Cleofa-van Der Zwet
International Office of the Dutch Probation Service, The Netherlands
Abstract
At least 1,900 Dutch detainees are detained abroad yearly. They are housed in foreign
detention because they are accused of having committed a criminal offence in a country
that is not their country of residence. This study used data regarding Dutch detainees
who were supervised by the International Office of the Dutch Probation Service to
examine detainees’ background characteristics and their offending behaviour after
returning to the Netherlands. The findings show that 23% of the Dutch detainees
reoffended within 2 years of release from foreign detention. Furthermore, several
background characteristics, such as their age at release from foreign detention, are
related to reoffending behaviour.
Keywords
Detained abroad, foreign detention, foreign national prisoners, reoffending, return
Introduction
About 10 million people are held in penal institutions worldwide (Walmsley, 2018). This
group includes foreign national prisoners: people who are detained due to a criminal
offence in a country that is not their home country or their country of residence, and to
whom another country is entitled to provide consular assistance. The overall number of
Corresponding author:
Matthias Van Hall, Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), PO Box
71304, 1008 BH Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Email: mhall@nscr.nl
1033793
EJP0010.1177/20662203211033793European Journal of ProbationVan Hall and Cleofa-Van Der Zwet
2021
Original Article
2021, Vol. 13(3) 242 –261
Van Hall and Cleofa-Van Der Zwet 243
2 European Journal of Probation 00(0)
foreign national prisoners is largely unknown. It is, however, likely that this group is
considerable and that the number will increase due to globalisation (Hofstee-Van Der
Meulen, 2015; Van Kalmthout et al., 2007).
Yearly, approximately 1900 Dutch detainees are incarcerated in foreign detention
because they are suspected or convicted of a criminal offence (Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, 2019). Dutch detainees are people who are in possession of a Dutch passport or
identity card and who have the right to receive consular assistance from Dutch embas-
sies. Numbers from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs are usually based on a refer-
ence date (e.g. 1 April 2020). Therefore, detainees incarcerated for less than 1 year after
the reference date are not counted. This indicates that the group of Dutch detainees in
foreign countries per year is actually larger (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2019). Compared
with other European countries, the Netherlands has – relative to the total population – a
high number of detainees who are held in foreign detention (Miedema and Stolz, 2008;
Van Kalmthout et al., 2007; Vogelvang et al., 2015).
While approximately 800 Dutch detainees return to the Netherlands yearly (Hofstee-
Van Der Meulen, 2015; Vogelvang et al., 2015), knowledge of their background charac-
teristics and particularly their offending behaviour after returning to the Netherlands is
limited. As far as can be determined, only three studies have considered Dutch detainees
in foreign detention (Hofstee-Van Der Meulen, 2015; Miedema and Stolz, 2008;
Vogelvang et al., 2015). Their results indicated that the majority of Dutch detainees in
foreign detention are male, are 30–45 years old and have a history of offending behav-
iour. However, there are no recent studies on this topic, and several questions concerning
this group of Dutch detainees remain unanswered. First, it is unknown how detainees
return to the Netherlands after being released from foreign detention. Second, the reoff-
ending behaviour of this group has not been investigated. Since reoffending by former
detainees is undesirable, harmful and expensive for society and victims, more attention
is warranted to reduce it (Koning et al., 2016; Newton et al., 2019). Third, little is known
about the background characteristics of Dutch citizens detained aboard that may predict
reoffending. Examining the reoffending rates – and understanding how background
characteristics relate to offending behaviour – of Dutch detainees can provide valuable
information for all organisations that deal with these detainees, including the Dutch
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Office which is part of the Dutch
Probation, so that they can work even more efficiently to reduce reoffending.
This study examines Dutch detainees’ background characteristics and reoffending
rates in the Netherlands after being detained abroad. Three research questions have been
answered:
Research question 1. What are the background characteristics of Dutch detainees who
are detained abroad?
Research question 2. What is the reoffending behaviour of Dutch detainees who are
released from foreign detention?
Research question 3. To what extent are the background characteristics of Dutch
detainees related to their reoffending after release from foreign detention?
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