Van mobiel naar vast: Een evaluatie van het experiment met elektronisch huisarrest voor minderjarigen als modaliteit voor de voorlopige hechtenis (From Fixed to Mobile: An Evaluation of an Experiment with Electronic Monitoring for Minors as an Alternative for Preventive Custody)

• NCJ Number: 197473
• Author(s): P. A. Kamphorst; G. J. Terlouw
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 148 pages
• Sale Source: Netherlands Ministry of Justice
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

This article reports on a 2-year study, conducted from January 2000 to July 2001 in the Netherlands, to measure the effectivenss of keeping juveniles in school and/or in work by means of electronic control rather than control by incarceration, with the results intended to inform policymaking concerning the use of electronic monitoring throughout the Netherlands.

Abstract

Twenty three juvenile offenders from one jurisdiction in the Netherlands, ages 12 to 18, spent 4 days to 75 days under electronic surveillance. As virtually all completed the program successfully, it was determined that the candidate selection criteria was valid. This criteria required that each participating juvenile have a stable home life, meaningful outdoor activities during daytime, and possess a certain level of discipline. The strict nature of the criteria were believed responsible for the low number of participants. Also, in the Netherlands a night detention program for juveniles targeted the same group and was a major competitor for participants. In evaluating the electronic surveillance program, judges and lawmakers noted that inconsistent treatment of offenders held in regular detention, as opposed to those being electronically monitored could lead to other or lighter sentences for the latter group. Also, an offender-accomplice might receive a suspended detention while the electronically monitored offender does not, yet both may get the same sentence in court, resulting in the electronically monitored juvenile being punished more severely. On the positive side, it was found that participants did not re-offend while being electronically monitored, with approximately 15 percent re-offending after monitoring ended. In conclusion, it is noted that the value of the results of this study for general application to policymaking is limited, due to the low number of study participants and the recent development of a competing method of monitoring (not described).