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Netherlands
Capital city — Amsterdam
Country population
i2021Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabit…
i31/01/2021/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 32.Type of government
Human Development Index
0.941(10/191)
iHomicide rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)
Name of authority in charge of the pris…
Total number of prisoners
i31/01/2021/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 32.Average length of imprisonment (in mont…
i2021/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 124.Prison density
i31/01/2021/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 77.Total number of prison facilities
i2021An NPM has been established
Female prisoners
i01/2021/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 45.Incarcerated minors
i09/2018Percentage of untried prisoners
i01/2021/ Council of Europe, SPACE I – Report 2021, p. 49.Death penalty is abolished
yes, since 1952The death penalty…
Overview
Prison population
Incarceration rate (per 100,000 inhabitants)
53.9
The authorities publish official statistics on prison population
on a regular basis, every year
The prison service has a computerised record keeping system
Total number of prisoners
9,415
Variation in the number of prisoners
decrease
The number of prisoners decreases by 7,51 % between January 2020 (10179)1 and January 2021 (9415).
The Dutch prison population has steadily declined over the past decade. The incarceration rate fell from 125 inmates per 100,000 inhabitants in 2006 to 54 in 2018. This represents a decrease of more than 50%. The main reasons for this downward trend are: a decrease in the crime rate, changes in criminal policy and an increase in non-custodial sentences.
Council of Europe, SPACE I, Rapport 2020, p. 33. ↩
Number of people serving non-custodial sentences
36,636
Variation in the number of people serving non-custodial sentences
increase
The number of persons serving a non-custodial sentence increases by 2,72 % between January 2020 (35 667)1 and January 2021 (36 636).
Council of Europe, SPACE II, Report 2021, p. 31. ↩
Variation in the incarceration rate
decrease
The incarceration rate decreases by 7,86 % between January 2020 (58,5)1 and January 2021 (53,9).
Council of Europe, SPACE I, Report 2020, p. 33. ↩
Number of admissions
21,735
Average length of imprisonment (in months)
5.1
Variation in the average length of imprisonment
increase
The average length of detention increases by 34,21 % between January 2020 (3,8)1 and January 2021 (5,1).
Council of Europe, SPACE I, Report 2020, p. 125. ↩
Prison density
88 %
Variation in the prison density
decrease
The occupancy rate decreases by 6,41 % between January 2020 (93,6)1 and January 2021 (87,6).
Council of Europe, SPACE I, Report 2020, p. 73. ↩
As of 1 September 2016, the distribution of inmates according to the length of their sentence was as follows1:
- less than 1 month: 488
- 1 to 3 months: 466
- 3 to 6 months: 352
- 6 months to 1 year: 546
- 1 to 3 years: 1,241
- 3 to 5 years: 476
- 5 to 10 years: 572
- 10 to 20 years: 419
- 20 years and over: 46
- life sentences: 31
Council of Europe, “Annual Penal Statistics. Space I - Prison Populations Survey 2016”, 2017, p.88. ↩
Overcrowding is an issue for specific types of prison facilities
no overpopulation observed
Organisation
Name of authority in charge of the prison service
Ministry of Justice and Security
The prison service outsources the management of the facilities to private companies, either partially or fully
yes
The Ministry of Justice funds the five juvenile facilities. Four of them are managed by private organisations.
Zaanstad prison was built by the Ballast Nedam Group. Maintenance of the facility has also been outsourced to the group for a 25-year period. The total cost of the contract amounts to 300 million euros.
The Custodial Institutions Agency (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen, DJI) manages prison facilities. Its headquarters are located in The Hague. Juvenile facilities, high-security psychiatric hospitals, and immigration detention centres also fall under its authority.
The overseas territories of the Dutch Caribbean are subject to varying systems. Bonaire is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The DJI is responsible for its sole correctional facility. Curaçao, a semi-independent state, is supported by the DJI. Aruba is an independent state. Its government manages the island’s prison.
Article 13, paragraph 1 of the Penitentiaire beginselenwet (PBW), Penitentiary Principles Act classes facilities according to their security level:
- very high security (extra beveiligd)
- high security (beperkt beveiligd)
- standard security (normaal beveiligd)
Since 2010, open prisons ((Zeer) Beperkt Beveiligde Inrichting, BBI and ZBBI) are gradually being closed since the conservative VVD party took office. In 2016, a bill to permanently abolish these types of facilities was submitted to parliament (Kamerstukken II 2015/16 33 844 No. 7 p.1). It was rejected. As a result, a number of these facilities remain, including Nieuwersluis women’s prison in Utrecht.These facilities are gradually being replaced by limited security units for people nearing the end of their sentence (Beperkt Beveiligde Afdeling, BBA). They [aim](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?! &&p=bddca1a0789937faJmltdHM9MTcxNDM0ODgwMCZpZ3VpZD0xZGExZTk2Zi1iODRiLTZmYjEtMTY4NS1mYjBmYjkwMjZlOTQmaW5zaWQ9NTE5OQ&ptn=3&ver=2&hsh=3&fclid=1da1e96f-b84b-6fb1-1685- fb0fb9026e94&psq=Beperkt+Beveiligde+Afdeling&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGppLm5sL2JpbmFyaWVzL2RqaS9kb2N1bWVudGVuL3B1YmxpY2F0aWVzLzIwMjEvMDYvMTYvaW5mb3JtYXRpZWJsYWQtYmJhLXZvb3ItZ2VkZXRpbmVlcmRlbi9JbmZvcm1hdGllYmxhZCtCQkErdm9vcitnZWRldGluZWVyZGVuLnBkZg&ntb=1) to promote reintegration. In 2021, there were ten. Eight are for men and two for women. Depending on certain criteria, prisoners may be transferred to a BBA from 4 weeks to 12 months before the end of their sentence. Prisoners in Dordrecht Prison’s BBA benefit from an open regime and reintegration leave, which allows them to work outside of the prison for four days per week. Its capacity is 25 people. They are free to move around from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., during which time they can see their families and buy food in the community. They also have access to mobile phones, laptops and musical instruments.1
In March 2014, the Netherlands introduced a grading system (Rechtsburgerschap). This new system followed the announcement of budget cuts in 2013.2 Inmates are now allocated to two different schemes: the “basic scheme” and the “improved scheme” (Plusprogramma). Each inmate is placed on the basic scheme on arrival. In order to benefit from the improved scheme, inmates must demonstrate good conduct and show “motivation for reintegration”. Prisoners under the improved scheme are entitled to:
-
five extra hours of out-of-cell activities each week (this is in addition to the 43 hours accorded on the basic scheme)
-
one extra hour of visiting time (in addition to the one hour per week allowed on the basic scheme)
-
preparation for release3
The semi-open facilities in Dordrecht, Heerhugowaard, Zaandam and Arnhem are reserved for prisoners on the improved scheme. Prisoners are given a key to their cell. They may move around the prison freely until 9.30 pm.
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), “Report to the Government of the Netherlands on the periodic visit carried out from 10 to 25 May 2022”, 2023, pp. 39, 42-43. ↩
Jacobs, P., « The Development Rechtsburgerschap of Prisoners: A National and European Perspective », 2015, p.390. ↩
Van Ginneken E., Hanneke Palmen A., Nieuwbeerta P., Berghuis M., “The Life in Custody Study : The quality of prison life in Dutch prison regime”, Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology of Leiden University, 2018, p.5 ↩
Prison facilities
The different types of facilities are:
- Remand centres (Huis van bewaring) for pre-trial detention or serving short-term sentences.
- Prisons for serving longer sentences (Gevangenis).
- Juvenile detention centres (Justitiële jeugdinrichting) for young people aged between 12 and 18 at the time of their offence. They may stay there until the age of 23.
Total number of prison facilities
30
Total official capacity of the prison facilities
10,745
The CPT notes that at Point Blanche prison in Sint Maarten, no log was kept showing the number of prisoners. No figure was available.1
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), “Report to the Government of the Netherlands on the periodic visit carried out from 10 to 25 May 2022”, 2023, p. 117. ↩
Variation in the capacity of the prison facilities
decrease
The total capacity of the prison system decreases by 1,23 % between January 2020 (10 879)1 and January 2021 (10 745).
Council of Europe, SPACE I, Report 2020, p. 73. ↩
The smallest facility is Almelo de Karelkamps. It is located in Overjissel and has capacity for 250 prisoners.
The largest facility is in Zaanstad. It is located near Amsterdam and has capacity for 1,040 prisoners.
Most facilities are located in the west of the country, where the majority of the population is concentrated. Owing to lack of space, the service is forced to transfer inmates to the east of the country. Family ties are affected by this.
Prison facilities are accessible by public transport
yes
The decrease in the prisoner population has led to prisons being underoccupied. Accordingly, the government has decided to close a number of them. As a result, the number of prisoners sharing their cell with another prisoner has increased.1
Owing to the under-occupation of its prisons, in 2010, the Netherlands began letting out a number of its prisons to other countries.
In 2010, Belgium began renting Tilburg prison. Up to 650 inmates were placed there. In return, Belgium paid the Dutch government 30 million euros per year. In 2016, the Belgian government announced the end of the contract. The project was considered a failure (see Belgium country profile 2018).
In 2015, Norway began its lease of the Norgerhaven prison in Veenhuizen, which has a total capacity for 242 inmates. The contract expired in 2018 and was not renewed.
Van Ginneken E., Hanneke Palmen A., Nieuwbeerta P., Berghuis M., “The Life in Custody Study : The quality of prison life in Dutch prison regime “, Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology of Leiden University, 2018, p. 5. ↩
Staff
Number of prison guards (FTE)
6,042
In May 2022, the CPT noted a problematic staff shortage. At Aruba Correctional Centre (KIA) and Centre for Detention and Correction Curaçao (SDKK), 72 out of 142 posts were vacant, sick leave was frequent and the officers were sent on other missions. The CPT also noted that at Dodrecht Prison and Vucht Prison, in particular in the TA and BGP units at Vught, prisoners waited several hours for assistance from the staff even when they were called via intercom.1
On 30 November 2023, the Minister for Legal Protection reported a staff shortage.
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT), “Report to the Government of the Netherlands on the periodic visit carried out from 10 to 25 May 2022”, 2023, pp. 9, 40, 79. ↩
Guard to prisoner ratio
1 : 1.6
Number of socio-educational workers (FTE)
890
Percentage of socio-educational workers in relation to the entire prison staff
7.7 %
The prison staff is represented by (a) union(s)
FNV Overheid is the largest union for prison staff.
Prison staff have the right to strike. They may also organise an elected works council (Ondernemingsraad). The unions are involved in the council.1
European Federation of Public Service Unions, “Prison Staff Perspectives. An EPSU survey of the impact of the economic crisis on prisons”, p.22. ↩
Prison officers are required to undergo three years of training. Candidates must have at least successfully completed vocational training (middelbaar beroepsonderwijs) to be admitted.
Prison staff working in the units for prisoners accused and convicted of terrorism-related offences receive additional training and a higher salary.
Staff salaries are in line with the cost of living and living conditions.
The base salary for a junior officer is 40,000 euros per year. Their position offers various benefits such as free public transport and increased hourly rates for overtime or irregular working hours.
Salaries are determined by the collective agreements applicable to government civil servants1.
European Federation of Public Service Unions, “Prison Staff Perspectives. An EPSU survey of the impact of the economic crisis on prisons”, p.21 ↩
The budgetary decisions announced by the government in 2013 had an impact on staff numbers. In 2015, nearly 6,400 posts out of a total workforce of 12,300 were cut. The reduction amounted to 52.7% over three years. The decrease in the number of inmates has improved the officer to prisoner ratio. It fell from 1.6 in 2008 to 1.5 in 2015.1
According to a survey conducted by researchers at Leiden University in 2017, the relationship between staff and inmates remains “*favourable and fair, with a discernible positive impact on the well-being, behaviour and even outcomes of inmates after their release”.2
European Federation of Public Service Unions, “Prison Staff Perspectives. An EPSU survey of the impact of the economic crisis on prisons”, p.10. ↩
van Ginneken E., Hanneke Palmen A., Nieuwbeerta P., Berghuis M., “The Life in Custody Study : The quality of prison life in Dutch prison regime “, Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology of Leiden University, 2018, p.8. ↩