Security, order, and discipline

Security functions are fulfilled by

the prison service

Some prison facilities, units or cells implement high-security measures

yes

Two Dutch prisons have high-security units, called Extra Secure Units (EBI, Extra Beveiligde Inrichting). These are De Schie in Rotterdam and, the largest, Nieuw Vosseveld in Vught. In these facilities, prisoners spend approximately 21 hours per day in a cell. The ratio of guards to inmates is two to one. All visits and calls from inmates are monitored.

The Terroristenafdeling wings(TA) in these two prisons are reserved for persons accused or convicted of terrorism or considered “radicalised” by the prison service. According the annual report of 2020 published by the NPM, Vught prison held 31 prisoners for a capacity of 41 places and De Schie prison had five prisoners for seven places. Prisoners convicted of terrorism are not individually assessed. They are subjected to security measures that are considered excessive: invasive body searches, isolation, and placement under constant surveillance. These measures can be considered cruel, inhumane, and/or degrading treatment. However, the government has been implementing reforms to improve the treatment of these detainees since 2017. In particular, a risk-based assessment would be established.

  • An amendment to the law on penitentiary principles authorises the Minister for Legal Protection to reduce contact and communication by prisoners placed in an extra security unit (EBI) or an intensive supervision section (AIT). Contact with people outside of prison can be prohibited for prisoners who pose a significant threat to collective security.

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    02/06/2023
    / Gouvernement des Pays-Bas
  • Four prisons have intensive supervision sections (Afdeling Intensief Toezicht, AIT). These sections aim to prevent prisoners from continuing criminal activities during their detention. They hold ten to fifteen prisoners, who do not come into contact with prisoners assigned to other sections. A new AIT is expected to open in 2024 at Sittard Prison.

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    Ministère de la Justice (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen)
  • On Friday, 2 June 2023, the Council of Ministers approved an amendment to the law on penitentiary principles in order to enable additional measures against serious organised crime in detention. Significant restrictions were established regarding communication with the outside world for prisoners held in the extra-secure facility (EBI) or departments for intensive supervision (AIT). The Minister for Legal Protection can ban communication options or contacts completely in the event of very serious risks to the safety of society. Visual monitoring is being established for conversations between prisoners and their solicitors. The proposal stipulates that each prisoner can communicate confidentially with a maximum of two solicitors.

    Prisoners in the EBI, BPG and TA units in Vught Prison and Zwolle Prison under an ordinary regime are allowed one hour of visiting time and two to four ten-minute calls per week with friends and family. This contact is subject to constant supervision, and all conversations are recorded.

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    02/06/2023
    / Ministère de la justice (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen)
  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that the highly restrictive regimes, as well as the security measures applied at the extra security facility (EBI unit) and in some parts of the departments holding persons for terrorism (TA unit) and posing management problems (BNP unit), had been reinforced and seemed excessive.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

Prisoners are classified according to their supposed level of dangerousness

in most cases

Prisoners must be assessed upon arrival. They are placed in an facility or unit appropriate to their risk profile (Article 22 of the “Regulation on the Selection, Placement and Transfer of Prisoners” - Regeling selectie, plaatsing en overplaatsing van gedetineerden).

The officer in charge of assessment produces a risk profile for each prisoner on arrival. It takes into account the risk of escape and risk of conflict with other prisoners or staff. Prisoners are then placed in a specific unit based on this assessment.

The DJI sets out three levels of risk: “extreme”, “high” and “increased”. There are no official figures on the number of people in ultra-secure detention. The DJI states that the number is under 100.Approximately half of the detainees are considered to be “high” risk.

Prisoners placed in units for terrorism-related offences are not subject to prior assessment. The actual need for invasive security measures is not subject to assessment. In 2007 and 2017, the CPT criticised the Dutch Government for placing individuals in such units without prior assessment.

The classification of prisoners is revised

every six months (except in anti-terrorism units)

Every month, an Operational Consultation (Operationeel Overleg) convenes to discuss the status of prisoners who have been in the same category for six months. Their risk profile is re-evaluated to determine whether the prisoner’s status has changed.

Prisoners may request a reassessment of their status at any time via the Operational Consultation.

Placement in units for prisoners convicted of terrorism (TA) is not subject to periodic reviews.

  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that review procedures existed and were performed once a year for prisoners in terrorist units and twice a year for prisoners in extra security units. During the reviews, a committee examined the prisoner’s behaviour and risk assessment. However, prisoners were uncomfortable with this process, as they felt constantly observed and they lacked privacy.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

Body searches involve pat-downs, strip searches and body cavity searches (Article 29 of the PBW).

Article 29, paragraph 3 of the PBW specifies that searches must be conducted in an enclosed space and, as far as possible, by persons of the same sex as the prisoner.

Prisoners are required to pass through a security gate which indicates whether or not a body search is necessary. Where premises are not equipped with these devices, such searches are carried out on a random basis.

EBI inmates are routinely strip searched before and after visits where no means of separation are used between the prisoner and their visitor.

Strip searches are common in anti-terrorist wings. They are not conducted on a case-by-case basis. They are routine before and after visits in which no means of separation is used between the prisoner and their visitor. Inmates have come to accept the use of partitions to avoid being subjected to search searches.1 This procedure was relaxed in 2017, shortly before the publication of an Amnesty International report on Dutch detention facilities for prisoners convicted of terrorism.

All inmates are subject to a pat-down search before leaving the prison for a hearing and upon their return. Inmates in EBI and TA are subject to a full body search under the same conditions.


  1. Amnesty International Netherlands and Open Society Foundations, “Inhuman and Unnecessary: Human Rights Violations in Dutch High-Security Prisons in the context of Counterterrorism”, October 2017, p.8. 

  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that strip searches were still being ordered by prison directors, despite earlier recommendations. They were performed by the prison staff, of the same sex when possible. In the facilities visited by the CPT, the prisoners were subjected to strip searches where they were required to remove all of their clothes at once and squat, which could be considered inhuman and degrading treatment. Complaints had been filed from prisoners in the EBI, TA and BPG units concerning overly frequent searches, which were sometimes performed by staff members of a different sex.

    At Aruba Correctional Institution (Korrectie Instituut Aruba – KIA), some collective search incidents were reported, during which prisoners were ordered to undress completely and form a line in the corridor while their cells were searched. In July 2018, all the women were searched, and body cavity searches were carried out by a female member of the medical staff. Male staff members were present during the examinations.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

All searches are logged in a register

no

Body cavity searches are conducted by a physician

yes

Article 6.5 of the Prison Regulations (Regeling model huisregels penitentiaire inrichtingen) provides that body cavity searches shall be carried out by a doctor or, on his instructions, by nursing staff.
Any member of staff may make a decision to carry out a body cavity search.

Relatives who enter the prison are searched using the following methods

  • electronic devices
  • pat-downs

Relatives who enter the prison are searched using the following methods

  • electronic devices
  • pat-downs

The use of coercive methods must be recorded.

  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that no log existed to record excessive use of force by staff, and such records that did exist lacked detailed, up-to-date information. The prison directors could still order the use of restraints on prisoners in solitary confinement for a maximum of 24 hours. This measure could be extended several times, each time for an additional 24 hours, after consultation by a doctor.

    At Centre for Detention and Correction Curaçao (SDKK), registers should be updated following incidents, but they were not, except in the case of serious incidents.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

Security staff carry

no weapons

A special intervention unit is in charge of restoring order

no

The special intervention unit (Intern Bijstandsteam) acts on the decision of the facility director. According to observers, its work suffers from a lack of clarity, particularly in its internal structure, its methods of intervention, and its supervision.

Most members of the IBT are recruited from the supervisory staff. They all receive nine weeks of training in self-defence techniques.

Prisoners showing signs of radicalisation or who have been convicted of terrorism-related offences are placed in two dedicated units aimed at preventing proselytation. The first, established in September 2006, is located in Vught prison. The second, established in January 2007, is located at De Schie prison.
There is no official de-radicalisation policy. A number of experiments have taken place in recent years, such as spiritual guidance by imams. Their access to prisons is relatively new. They would previously be involved at the end of the sentence.
Specific psychological support is also offered.

  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that the capacity of terrorist units (Terroristen Afdeling, TA) had increased in recent years from 48 to 70. In addition to the existing units at Vught Prison and De Schie Prison (Rotterdam), a third unit with a capacity of 10 women opened in August 2020 at Zwolle Prison. Multidisciplinary, individualised reintegration programmes have been established for each prisoner. Several people, especially at Zwolle Prison, voiced a desire for additional de-radicalisation support.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

The prison service keeps record of incidents

yes

Incidents are reported to the Ministry of Justice. The Supervisory Committee in each facility is informed of all incidents.

Number of escapes

0

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2021
/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 119.

The number of jailbreaks decreases by 100 % between January 2020 (321)1 and January 2021 (0).


  1. Council of Europe, SPACE I, Report 2020, p. 117. 

  • According to a 2022 report from the Ministry of Justice, no juvenile prisoners have escaped but 36 unauthorised absences have been recorded.

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    21/06/2023
    / Ministère de la justice (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen)
  • A prisoner escaped from the psychiatric prison in Nijmegen. Three prisoners escaped in 2022, including one in November who escaped while on supervised leave and stabbed his ex-partner.

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    09/05/2023
    / NL TIMES

Number of violent acts against prison staff

-

According to the prison workers’ union FNV Overheid, there are no reliable statistics on the number of attacks on prison staff by prisoners because the recording of incidents is poorly organised. However, the union points out that the reduction in the number of custodial staff has increased the pressure and reduced the time staff can spend interacting with inmates.1
In its 2019 Annual Report, the Nationaal Preventie Mechanism (MNP) denounced the lack of personnel. Security is said to suffer. Staff members report an increase in assaults by prisoners. The violence is reported to occur mainly during transfers and placements in solitary confinement.

Breaches of discipline are clearly defined in writing

yes

The different disciplinary sanctions are set out in Article 51 of the APP:

  • placement in a disciplinary unit for up to two weeks

  • suspension of visits for a maximum period of four weeks if the incident is related to the visitor(s)

  • suspension of activities for a maximum of two weeks

  • denial, cancellation or limitation of temporary release

  • a fine not exceeding the equivalent of two weeks’ salary

Disciplinary offences are investigated

in most cases

The decision to apply a disciplinary sanction must be subject to an adversarial debate

yes

The inmate shall be questioned before any disciplinary sanction is applied (Article 57, paragraph 1 of the PBW).

Prisoners are allowed to be assisted by a lawyer

yes

Legal aid and access to an interpreter is guaranteed by the PBW (Article 65, paragraphs 1 & 2)

The prison governor decides whether sanctions are imposed. (Article 40, paragraph 2 of the Pbw).

Prisoners may appeal against disciplinary sanctions

yes

Appeals are made to the Complaints Committee (Article 56, paragraph 2 of the PBW). The inmate may appeal against the decision of the Committee (article 67, paragraph 3).

  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that Centre for Detention and Correction Curaçao (SDKK) and Point Blanche Prison in Sint Maarten had created logs for disciplinary sanctions since the CPT’s previous visit in 2014. The procedures were followed, and the person being sanctioned received a copy of the decision and could appeal the sanction.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

Disciplinary sanctions can be imposed as a collective punishment

no
i

Solitary confinement can be used as

  • punishment
  • protection
  • security measure

Solitary confinement can be imposed in cases of illness to prevent transmission.

  • Isolation was used as a protective measure 3,236 times in 2022. The living conditions in isolation are the same, regardless of whether it serves as a protective measure or as a disciplinary action.

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    06/2023
    / ‘iso’ : perspectives on prison isolation in the Netherlands

Solitary confinement is decided

  • by the prison governor
  • at the request of the prisoner

Placement in solitary confinement is decided by the prison governor in line with Article 24, paragraph 1 of the PBW. Other members of staff may make this decision in cases of emergency. In such cases, the measure may not exceed 15 hours (paragraph 4).
An inmate may also request to be placed in solitary confinement if they fear for their safety.

  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that at Rotterdam Detention Centre, foreign prisoners were often and routinely placed in solitary confinement.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

The duration for placement in solitary confinement is limited

yes, two weeks

  • As of May 2023, 32.2% (or 109 out of a total of 339) of isolation cells were occupied. It is common for prisoners to be placed in isolation right in their own cells. In terms of duration, 22% of those isolated stay for one to four days, 42% for five to eight days, 12% for nine to thirteen days, and 24% are kept in isolation for up to 14 days, the maximum permitted duration.

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    06/2023
    / ‘iso’ : perspectives on prison isolation in the Netherlands

Solitary confinement can be extended

yes

there is no statutory limit on extending solitary confinement.

Prisoners in solitary confinement receive regular medical care

yes

The prison governor shall ensure that the Supervisory Committee and a doctor are informed of transfers to solitary confinement for durations exceeding 24 hours (Article 24, paragraph 6 of the PBW). A doctor or nurse is required to visit the isolated prisoner daily. In cases where confinement was imposed for purposes of protection, a psychologist visits the isolated prisoner on a regular basis.

  • Confidentiality during medical visits for individuals in isolation was not always properly respected.

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    06/2023
    / ‘iso’ : perspectives on prison isolation in the Netherlands
  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that the medical staff visited prisoners in solitary confinement every two to three days.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

Solitary confinement is implemented in a specific unit or facility (Article 24, paragraph 2, of the PBW).

  • The conditions in solitary confinement cells are austere. Typically, mattresses are removed during the day. Prisoners are required to wear paper underwear and are prohibited from wearing socks; there is no access to potable water at the faucets, no sinks are available, toilets are made of metal and lack seats. Shower privileges are extended only once every three days. Lighting is externally controlled, and the cells are devoid of sheets, equipped only with a single blanket. The doors are reinforced, and the windows are obscured, blocking any view outside.

    In contrast, some facilities have upgraded specific cells. These renovated cells are painted in warm hues and furnished with curtains or a television set. Unlike the typical delivery through a hatch in the door, food is served to prisoners by staff who open the doors to these cells. Additionally, prisoners placed in solitary confinement maintain their original cell allocation.

    Some solitary units are not permanently staffed. Vulnerable individuals placed in solitary for security reasons are often supervised remotely by camera or by staff stationed outside the unit. Camera surveillance in solitary cells is limited and requires the prison director’s authorisation. Such conditions can intensify the trauma of these prisoners, heightening the dangers linked to isolation.

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    06/2023
    / ‘iso’ : perspectives on prison isolation in the Netherlands
  • In May 2022, the CPT noted that the solitary confinement cells in Vught Prison’s BPG unit were inadequately cleaned and poorly ventilated. These cells were equipped with toilets, foam blocks to be used as beds and tables, a call system and CCTV cameras. They were not equipped with real beds, tables or chairs. The CCTV cameras showed the toilet area and could only be switched on if medical advice placed a person under observation for protection reasons. Prisoners who had been held in these cells stated that they had been instructed to clean the cells at the end of their time there. When the CPT visited, the cells smelled of urine.

    The condition of the solitary confinement cells for women at Aruba Correctional Institution (Korrectie Instituut Aruba – KIA) was austere. Nothing was provided beyond a concrete platform, which served as a bed, and a sanitary area that was not separated from the rest of the cell. Once the door closed, no natural light could enter, and the artificial lighting was often switched off to avoid emitting too much heat. The cells did not have call bells.

    At Point Blanche Prison in Sint Maarten, the solitary confinement cells were not kept in good repair. They were dirty, with visible black mould on the walls, no furniture, and water leaking from the ceilings, and they were hot and did not have fans.

    Curaçao Centre for Detention and Correction (SDKK) did not use solitary confinement as a punishment because the facility did not have any suitable disciplinary cells. In most cases, prisoners had their visiting rights taken away instead.

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    23/06/2023
    / Comité européen pour la prévention de la torture (CPT)

Prisoners placed in solitary confinement are given at least one hour access to fresh air per day (Article 49, paragraph 3 of the PBW).
Contact with other prisoners is very limited and supervised.

Prisoners in solitary confinement do not participate in activities or work, unless special permission is granted by the governor (Article 24, paragraph 2, of the PBW).

  • Prisoners in solitary confinement are automatically excluded from participating in their usual activities as a disciplinary sanction.

    In some facilities, prisoners have access to blackboards, with chalk available upon request.

    No efforts toward rehabilitation or reintegration are undertaken for individuals held in isolation cells.

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    06/2023
    / ‘iso’ : perspectives on prison isolation in the Netherlands

Prisoners in solitary confinement have the right to a weekly visit.