Thus, the belief that the Netherlands has lenient penal attitudes may not necessarily be justified. The number of Dutch prisoners per 100,000 population were far lower than those in the other 2 countries, but differences in crime rates, types of crimes, arrests, and sentence lengths should also be considered. Consideration of these factors shows that unconditional prison sentences are relatively frequent but short in the Netherlands. In contrast, in Sweden and Germany such sentences are relatively infrequent but long. The factors which may explain the differences among the three countries are the differences in the composition of the population of known suspects or sentenced persons, differences in the rules which must be followed in administering criminal justice, and differences relating to those who apply the rules. Further research should try to clarify the working of the penal system in the Netherlands, with emphasis on the relationships between different components of the system. Footnotes and 23 references are provided.