NCJ Number
136374
Journal
Journal of Quantitative Criminology Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: special issue (March 1992) Pages: 1-7
Editor(s)
J Junger-Tas,
G J N Bruinsma
Date Published
1992
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This special journal issue attempts to present a fair image of quantitative Dutch criminology that encompasses research and theory concerns and such aspects of the criminal justice system as sentencing, crime rates, crime prevention, juvenile delinquency, and crime among minority groups.
Abstract
Between the 1960's and the 1980's, crime in the Netherlands increased substantially, from 130,000 offenses recorded by the police in 1960 to about 1 million offenses in 1980. With regard to juvenile delinquency, crime rates for 12-17 and 18-20 year olds started to rise in 1955. Since then, the percentage of convicted juveniles in the total population doubled from 0.3 percent in 1955 to 0.6 percent in 1970 for the 12-17 year age group and from 0.7 to 1.65 percent for the 18-20 year age group. Police statistics show that property crimes represent the largest category of all crimes recorded by the police. In response to increased crime rates and in the interest of crime prevention, the Netherlands Ministry of Justice encourages policy-relevant criminological research. Since 1974, a policy-oriented research center has operated within the Ministry of Justice, and social science research efforts have been strongly influenced by Anglo-Saxon empirical research traditions. Dutch criminology is characterized by three important research activities: theory development, measurement and analysis methods, and policy evaluation studies. 3 references