Netherlands to close prisons for lack of criminals

[rcrush]

http://www.nrc.nl/international/article2246821.ece/Netherlands_to_close_prisons_for_lack_of_criminals


The Dutch justice ministry has announced it will close eight prisons and cut 1,200 jobs in the prison system. A decline in crime has left many cells empty.

During the 1990s the Netherlands faced a shortage of prison cells, but a decline in crime has since led to overcapacity in the prison system. The country now has capacity for 14,000 prisoners but only 12,000 detainees.

Deputy justice minister Nebahat Albayrak announced on Tuesday that eight prisons will be closed, resulting in the loss of 1,200 jobs. Natural redundancy and other measures should prevent any forced lay-offs, the minister said.

The overcapacity is a result of the declining crime rate, which the ministry's research department expects to continue for some time.

Belgian prisoners

Some reprieve might come from a deal with Belgium, which is facing overpopulation in its prisons. The two countries are working out an agreement to house Belgian prisoners in Dutch prisons. Some five-hundred Belgian prisoners could be transferred to the Tilburg prison by 2010.

The Netherlands would get 30 million euros in the deal, and it will allow the closing of the prisons in Rotterdam and Veenhuizen to be postponed until 2012.




This is the country where pot is basically legal. A stark contrast to the US, where there is prison OVERpopulation due to the phoney drug war.

[CBR]

1. Gosh...I love the Netherlands.

:loveya:

[Blue_Tires]

5. +1

[Echo In Light]

2. Very telling

[onehandle]

3. I have a friend contracting for Microsoft over there.

He should probably be locked up. I'll make a call.

[Wabbajack_]

4. imagine that

what are they doing right? Not jailing non-violent drug offenders? How novel.

[anonymous171]

6. When your prisons are public, you want less prisoners in them.

When they are private, you want more.

[waiting for hope]

9. Ding Ding Ding!!!!!!

[Uncle Joe]

11. I believe that's the gist of the matter. n/t

[Echo In Light]

12. One could very well refer to it as the primary motive

[Uncle Joe]

15. I also believe that beast's appetite will never be satisfied and if tomorrow not a single person

used drugs, or drug use declined dramatically, the for profit prison Ferengi would lobby for other draconian laws in order make up for the lost revenue.

I believe the concept of for profit prisons to be anathema to the spirit of the The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, while reducing the line about "The land of the free and home of the brave" to an inside joke.

[Echo In Light]

16. It's a sham democracy on so many levels, both theoretically, and in application

Steps to strengthen democracy, and better life for humanity won't be taken, however, so long as the fascists are able to control messages/info/disinfo. The internet has helped to raise awareness, but that damn TV continues to be the Great Indoctrinator.

[pnutbutr]

7. Fewer thefts, more vandalism and violent crimes

http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/veiligheid-recht/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2008/2008-2516-wm.htm

[lib2DaBone]

8. We could probably send them a few million non violent drug offenders....

.. or people who forgot to wear their seat belt or someone who possessed incense and rolling papers.

How do they support their prison complex?

[bertman]

10. They don't need so many prisoners since the market for wooden shoes tanked.

[cbc5g]

13. And if drugs were legalized here and regulated, many of our prisons would be shut down

And the Prison Industrial Complex would not like that.

[Arugula Latte]

14. Profit uber alles, dontcha know.

[BrklynLiberal]

17. wow.....

[joeybee12]

18. That can't be! the country is pro-gay, lenient on drugs, open-minded

and accepting...surely this leads to crime!

[Echo In Light]

19. "America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides freedom-loving people everywhere"

~ Reagan :wtf:



I guess a country that actually represents that doesn't feel the need to brag about it, or make jingoistic claims. Sounds like a decent place to live.

[SoCalDem]

24. America... a beautiful woman, dressed in designer clothes..(with a dirty neck & B.O.)

From a distance, looks great, but up close? :)

[info being]

34. I would say it's an ugly, selfish, fat woman dressed in designer clothes

[SoCalDem]

23. and their social "security blanket" may actually make it possible for people to LIVE

a decent life, and not feel compelled to supplement their incomes via crime:shrug:

[DutchLiberal]

31. But previous and the current Cabinet is doing everything it can to break it down...

They have already partially privatized health care, and they have made it more difficult for people to access our 'social safety net'. And they're working very hard to shrink it even more.

[DutchLiberal]

29. It hasn't been very open-minded for the past 8 years...

At least not to traditional Dutch standards. Ever since the rise of right-wing would-be prime-minister Pim Fortuyn (who was assassinated) and the subsequent victory of now prime-minister Balkenende (who publicly renounced gay marriage when he was visiting Indonesia!), The Netherlands' political climate has turned very much to the conservative right. Especially since a small party of fundamentalist Christians have joint the government coalition in 2006, tolerance is hard to find.

[bagrman]

37. I think I see the fly in the ointment.

[DutchLiberal]

39. ???

[bagrman]

40. They are having problems now that the Fundies and Repukes are rooting around in everyones affairs.

[carlyhippy]

20. legal smoke, low crime, what is not to love? n/t

[Vidar]

21. The Dutch utopia vs the American police state.

[Wednesdays]

22. K&R

:kick:

[G_j]

25. Netherlands gun laws

fyi

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_law


<Snip>
Netherlands

Dutch gun law is typical of the Western European approach. Firearm possession is not subject to any constitutional protections, but regulated simply in the Arms and Ammunition Act (Wet Wapens en Munitie). Weapons, including firearms, are divided into four categories, and for each of the categories a certain maximum punishment is set for "voorhanden hebben" (possession), and "dragen" (carrying in public).
Only citizens who are members of hunting and shooting sports clubs may obtain licences for weapons. And even then they may only get a licence for category III weapons (sports weapons).
Firearm possession and use by the military and the police is not subject to Arms and Ammunition Act, but regulated separately.
Sale/Use is only for those age 18 or over.

[JonLP24]

26. Cannibis is not legal in the Netherlands

It is misdemeanor with a penalty of a fine. So in other words rarely enforced but technically it is not legal. Also coffee shops close all the time because of complaints of drug tourists by local residents. However they still do it better then us and good for them. I just felt the need to correct all of those who say it is legal, it closely is but technically it is a misdemeanor.

[DutchLiberal]

28. And the current trend in Dutch politics is for a more severe, U.S. styled policy...

I fear a 'war on drugs' in The Netherlands. It's not effective, of course, but being "tough on crime" is the new way to win votes in The Netherlands.

[DutchLiberal]

27. Dutch right-wing politicians are furious about it.

They say the reasons for the empty prison cells is the lack of adequate punishing of criminals. Contrary to all scientific study, they still claim longer and more harsh sentences will be effective fighting crime. Obviously they say this because it resonates well with a large segment of the electorate.

The empty cells are partly a result of the increasing number of 'taakstraf', where a convicted criminal doesn't have to do time in jail, but instead has to contribute to society by doing jobs that will improve the communities.

[marmar]

30. Wow, civilized countries with a pragmatic approach to drugs have fewer criminals......

..... The American prison-industrial complex doesn't want this getting around.

[eridani]

32. Maybe they should get temporarily hard-assed about bike thieves.

There are so many bikes per capita that they are natural targets, and it's a real hassle in the larger population centers. I hear that a good way to get a replacement is to go to any bike-specific stoplight and holler "Dat is mijn fiets" and then take your pick of the ones that are dropped when the riders run away.

[and-justice-for-all]

33. Awsome! Someday, we might live in a country like that..

someday meaning a couple thousand years from now.

[winyanstaz]

35. This needs to be seen all over the place and we need to take notice...

Why not let the Dutch run all the prisons everywhere cause they know how to do it right.
Unlike us where we have more people in prison,(and so many for non violent "crimes" such as pot) than any other nation on earth.
If they wont come and run our prisons,we could at least TRY to copy them. Sounds like a plan to me. :)

[Butch350]

36. The USA courts and Lawyers

Just what to milk money out of the the system by scamming fine and court costs while lawyers reap the benefits
of ridulusly high fees. It's not about the crime it's about the dime. The legal system just wants to reap monetary benefits.

[hunter]

38. Here in the U.S.A. we're very good at manufacturing criminals.

It's one of our major industries.