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Netherlands (From Imprisonment Today and Tomorrow: International Perspectives on Prisoners' Rights and Prison Conditions, P 393-427, 1991, Dirk van Zyl Smit and Frieder Dunkel, eds. -- See NCJ-133824)

NCJ Number
133836
Author(s)
C Kelk
Date Published
1991
Length
35 pages
Annotation
Imprisonment has declined in importance in The Netherlands throughout the 20th century, and since 1977 inmates have had the right to formal handling of grievances.
Abstract
Compared to other countries, corrections management is rather lenient. Sentences are generally short, with 40 percent under 1 month and only 10 percent longer than 1 year in 1985. Institutions are small with varying security levels, and correctional staff are trained using the family model. Physicians and nurses have important roles, because medical evidence is crucial to decisions regarding inmate discipline or solitary confinement. Convicted inmates must perform assigned work, but they do not have the right to strike. Regulations also permit furloughs, inmate visits, and communication with people outside the prison. Detailed regulations specify the procedures and timing involved in addressing inmate grievances. When the right of complaint was introduced in 1977, it met skepticism from correctional personnel and inmates. This right serves the important function of preventing inappropriate corrections management, although concern exists that it could harm inmate-staff relations. Footnotes and 12 references