Resocialisation and Reintegration in the Netherlands: Political Narrative Versus Reality

This contribution focuses on a discrepancy between the political narrative in which Dutch criminal justice policy pays increasing attention to the reintegration of ex-prisoners and the reality in which the possibilities for reintegration in law and policy are becoming increasingly limited. This discrepancy is illustrated by an outline of the recent changes in Dutch penal policy with regard to the enforcement of prison sentences in which a great deal of emphasis is placed on the reintegration of ex-prisoners on the basis of six basic conditions for reintegration, namely having accommodation, income from work or benefits, insight into debts, being in possession of a valid identity document, determining care needs and continuity of care and maintaining and strengthening a positive social network. Furthermore, we will discuss the recent changes in the system of promotion and demotion, sentence planning and conditional release procedure for prisoners, as a result of which the possibilities for resocialisation have decreased.