Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

The Netherlands is shutting down prisons. It doesn’t have enough criminals, and prisons aren’t effective at rehabilitation

While this is a problem for the country's 1,900 prison workers losing their jobs... it's not such a bad problem to have.

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
February 7, 2017
in Economics, News

Eight prisons were marked for closure in 2009. Nineteen more followed in 2014, and another eight closures were announced in 2016. While this is a problem for the country’s 1,900 prison workers losing their jobs… it’s not such a bad problem to have.

A corridor of the end of the world prison at Ushuaia, now a museum. Image credits: Luis Argerich

The main reason why this happens is simple: crime is going down. Rates are falling around 0.9% per year. This means that by 2021, 3,000 prison cells and 300 youth detention places will be an unneeded surplus. This is a healthy drop, and former justice minister Ard van der Steur said that serious crimes are significantly dropping as well. Aside from indicating less crime taking place across the country, this also saves a lot of money — as prisons are very expensive to maintain.

But this doesn’t really tell the entire story. Somewhere along the line, the Dutch understood that prisons are not particularly good at rehabilitating people. Just like in Norway, the Netherlands focuses on rehabilitating people instead of punishing them — and this works. The Norway recidivism rates are at 20%. Compare that to the 76.6% recidivism rate in the US, and you’ll start to see why this is a good thing. Judges in the Netherlands tend to give community service instead of jail for many crimes. The Duch are closing prisons so fast, they’re actually importing prisoners from Norway — which gains them extra money. They also don’t have a war on drugs, which helps contribute to their success.

Still, many believe punishments aren’t strong enough, as many people who commit light crimes (and even some who commit heavy crimes) never really get a jail sentence. Socialist Party MP Nine Kooiman criticized the government:

‘If this cabinet was really working to catch crooks, we wouldn’t have this problem of empty cells,’ she said.

Yet it’s hard to argue with those figures. So at this point, I guess it’s important (especially for the US, which has a record high incarceration rate) to ask one question: when people commit crimes, do we want to punish them, or do we want to rehabilitate them? Ideally, you’d say both — but this doesn’t seem possible.

 

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Prisons are schools for criminals. Illegal earnings go up after jail time
  2. Netherlands is closing down more prisons because there’s no one to fill them with
  3. Shutting down for maintenance: Faroe Islands close to tourism, call volunteers help
  4. Interpol wants you to help catch the worst environmental criminals
  5. US wants to target environmental criminals behind deforestation in Brazil
Tags: Netherlandsprison

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW