The Dutch juvenile justice system remains essentially a welfare system; the justice model emphasizes the offender's responsibility and need for punishment, while the welfare model emphasizes the needs of the child and considers relevant social and psychological circumstances. Status offenses are not considered crimes. While most juvenile offenses involve property crimes, violent offenses did increase and the number of property offenses actually declined between 1980 and 1990. These changes in juvenile delinquency are usually explained by the increase in national prosperity, the decline in supervision, demographic shifts, and the decline of social control. Dutch criminologists rely on theories of social control and opportunity to explain the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency. There has been an increasing reliance on a model of community control as an alternative to traditional sanctions. 2 tables, 4 figures, 7 notes, and 26 references