The citizen and the criminal justice system
Co-ordinator: Prof. dr. P.H. van der Laan
The dynamics and manner in which the criminal justice system operates are the focal point of Theme Group 2. The criminal justice system is regarded as a complex sequence of judicial authorities, procedures and decisions that cover the entire trajectory from reporting or notification right through to the execution of a sentence or disciplinary action. The interaction between citizens (including offenders, victims and witnesses) and the criminal justice system determines the legitimacy of the system and is indispensable for effective law enforcement that is supported in society. Legitimacy defines important issues, such as the willingness to report crime and the degree in which people are inclined to take the law into their own hands. Legitimacy also affects the acceptance of judicial decisions, co-operation with legal authorities (police) and in procedures. The manner in which criminal justice system functions, its transparency, the way that those who are directly involved are treated, the response to feelings within society, the fairness of procedures and decisions, these are all aspects of the interaction between the citizen and the criminal justice system that are of prime importance for the legitimacy of the administration of criminal justice in modern society.
In research projects of Theme Group 2 divergent aspects of the interaction are studied between citizens and the criminal justice system, with a focus on the legitimacy of the administration of justice. This ranges from changing perspectives whereby attention is sometimes given to characteristics and perceptions of the citizens (e.g. taking the law into one's own hands); at other times the emphasis is on characteristics of the criminal justice system itself (e.g. the principle of open justice) and, where possible explicitly on the interaction. The group is striving to integrate the results from these studies and to expand the theories about legitimacy with an emphasis on the dynamic and procedural aspects of law enforcement.
Projects
Public support for vigilantism
drs. Nicole Haas, prof. dr. Gerben Bruinsma (promotor), dr. Jan de Keijser (co-promotor)
Public support for citizens who take the law into their own hands (vigilantism) touches the foundations of our criminal justice system. After all, one of the fundamental justifications for our criminal justice system is to prevent citizens from taking the law into their own hands. From the perspective of legitimacy of the criminal justice system, what matters on a societal level is the collective (dis)approval of vigilantism incidents. Which types of behaviour involving vigilantism are acceptable to the public and which are not? What types of support exist? What is that support based on? Does support for vigilantism have direct repercussions for the legitimacy of the criminal justice system? Is there a link between confidence in the criminal justice system and support for vigilantism? By systematically searching answers to these theoretical and empirical questions, one of the most important pillars of the criminal justice system shall be looked at from a new and critical perspective.
top of page
The principle of open justice: theory and practice
dr. mr. Marijke Malsch, prof. dr. mr. Hans Nijboer, dr. Jan de Keijser, Prof. mr. Th.A. de Roos (Universiteit Leiden)
The principle of open justice ('openbaarheidsbeginsel' in Dutch) is one of the fundamental pillars on which the Dutch criminal justice system rests. In all democratic Western countries, it is a well-established principle that courts should generally be open to anyone who wishes to attend. This is extremely important in the Dutch inquisitorial system, in which the lay-element has almost totally disappeared. The Netherlands system does not make use of jury's, and lay judges are, with a few exceptions, not sitting in criminal cases. Direct public influence on the appointment of the members of the judiciary is absent. This lack of direct democratic accountability has been complemented by providing the opportunity to the public to, at trial sessions or through the news-media, be able to review the adjudication of cases by the judiciary.
This project explores the operation of this principle in criminal law practice. The attendance of the general public of criminal cases has been investigated and interviews have been conducted with people sitting in the public gallery of court houses. Comprehensibility of legal language, used at trial sessions as well as in written sentences, is being studied at present. The project is conducted in co-operation with the Department Strafrecht and Criminologie of Leiden University and the Seminarium voor Bewijsrecht. The project has finished in 2004. A book will be published in 2005.
top of page
Citizens in the role of judges
dr. Jan de Keijser, prof. dr. Peter van Koppen, prof. dr. Henk Elffers
Public opinion research on crime and punishment often reveals that the public in general believes that sentences are too lenient. However, the existence of one homogeneous and punitive public opinion can be doubted. In the literature, public opinion is believed to become more lenient and similar to judges’ sentences when more and more detailed information on perpetrator and crime is provided. In this project such an effect of information on public opinion is elaborated upon. Through an experimental study, public opinion is compared to that of judges, given exactly the same dossiers of criminal cases. Furthermore, the effects on punishment of quantity and detail of information given to lay persons are tested by systematic experimental variation of the case material.
top of page
Psychological aspects of the interaction between proof and the adjudication of crimes
dr. Jan de Keijser, prof. dr. Peter van Koppen
This project gives an overview of research into psychological aspects of proof and decision making in criminal law. Attention is given to, among others, the reliability of witness’ statements, judicial decision making, the conditions for effectiveness of punishment, and the influence of expert opinions on decision making by the court. The Theory of Anchored Narratives serves as a background to this research (Crombag, van Koppen and Wagenaar, 1997; van Koppen, 2004). This theory is tested in various subprojects. States of the Art of the findings of research into law and psychology, both in the Netherlands and in other countries, are produced at regular intervals. In these States of the Art, the relevance of research findings are indicated and elaborated upon. Moreover, case studies are made of real-life cases that are evidentiary complicated. Recommendations to the criminal law practice are generated
top of page
Lay participation in the criminal justice system
dr. mr. Marijke Malsch, dr. mr. Paul de Hert (Universiteit Leiden)
Recently, a number of politicians in the Netherlands has advocated the introduction of lay people in the administration of justice. In the Dutch criminal justice system, the lay element is nearly absent. Other countries around the Netherlands all make use of lay persons, either in a jury system or with lay judges who decide in co-operation with professional judges in criminal cases. This project investigates lay participation in these other countries and how it impacts on the criminal justice system, the views of professional judges as well as those of the lay participants, the way cases are tried and perceptions of citizens on the criminal justice system. In 2008 or 2009, a book will be published by Ashgate on the subject of lay participation.
top of page
Crime and Justice in the Netherlands
prof. Michael Tonry
This project aims to provide a reasonably comprehensive overview of Dutch research on crime and the justice system. Twelve essays were commissioned from leading Dutch scholars on such topics as Dutch tolerance; organized crime; organizational crime; ethnicity, immigration, and crime; policing; prisons and prisoners; sex offenses and offending; and youth crime.
Drafts will be discussed at a conference attended by the writers, other Dutch scholars, and other participants from Europe and North America, and written critiques will be sought from expert referees, after all of which final publication decisions will be made. The refereed volume will be published by the University of Chicago Press. The project is sponsored by NSCR and also the Research and Documentation Centre f the Dutch Ministry of Justice, the Vice-Chancellor's Strategic Reserve Fund of the University of Cambridge, and the Institute on Crime and Public Policy of the University of Minnesota Law School.
top of page
The Determinants of Penal Policy
prof. Michael Tonry
This project investigates cross-national differences in political and legal culture, governmental arrangements, and constitutional traditions that affect the shaping of penal policies and practices. David Garland's 2001 book The Culture of Control (OUP) describes changes of the past 30 years that he believes explain the vastly increased severity of penal policies in the United States and England. All of those changes occurred, however, in most Western countries, but penal policy trends varied widely. This project aims to develop generalizable findings about national characteristics that explain those divergent policy trajectories. Papers will be commissioned from 8-10 countries representing different policy trajectories and will be discussed at a series of international conferences. The resulting volume will be published by the University of Chicago Press.
The project is sponsored by NSCR and also the National Research Institute on Legal Policy, Helsinki, and the Institute on Crime Public Policy of the University of Minnesota Law School.
top of page
Punishment Philosophies and Paradigms
prof. Michael Tonry
Punishment Philosophies and Paradigms. This project aims to develop new normative models for analysis of penal policies and practices. Criminal justice systems of most Western countries are incorporating new practices and policies-including restorative justice initiatives, communitarian ideas, greater used of coerced participation in rehabilitative programs, increased incapacitative use of risk assessments and instruments-that do not rest comfortably within prevailing retributive and consequentialist theories.
Leading philosophers and theorists will be commissioned to develop ideal punishment theories premised on particular rationales or justifications in order to develop new normative models that can take account of recent policy developments in principled, ethical ways. A series of small conferences will be held to examine successive iterations of such models.
top of page
Stalking
dr. mr. Marijke Malsch
Since the year 2000, a stalking law exists in the Netherlands. The NSCR investigates the reasons for this new law, its introduction in the legal system, and the application in legal practice. It has appeared that the new law has been applied in an unexpected number of cases. The question may be asked, however, whether it forms a definite answer to the problem of stalking. Present research focuses on the question whether stalkers who have been convicted recidivate. The period between conviction and relapse is explored, and it is examined of which (new) crimes the stalkers are accused. Several articles and books have been written on the subject of stalking legislation.
top of page
The interpretation and understanding of probability statements in forensic reports
drs. Roos Marijn Kok, dr. Jan de Keijser, prof. dr. Henk Elffers
Is there a way in which a forensic expert can phrase his report so that the non-expert reader correctly understands it? Key element in the experts’ report is the conclusion. Of crucial importance is that those present in the courtroom interpret the forensic report, and especially the conclusion, in the same way that the expert intends it. At this point there appear to be some serious problems and interpretation fallacies. The current research involves a systematic experiment using fictitious technical forensic reports to find out how exactly the conclusions in forensic reports are interpreted and (mis)understood.
This project is realised in cooperation with the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI).
top of page
Prisons and punishments
dr. Anja Dirkzwager, prof. Michael Tonry, prof.dr. Peter van der Laan, prof.dr. Paul Nieuwbeerta, prof.dr.mr. Catrien Bijleveld, dr. Arjan Blokland, Willemijn Lamet, MSc., drs. Karin Beijersbergen
Currently the Netherlands has one of the highest imprisonment rates per 100.000 inhabitants of all Western European nations. The aim of this research program is to gain more insight into the meaning and implications of imprisonment and other criminal justice sanctions for the offenders and their families.
Using criminological, sociological and psychological theories (e.g. labeling theory, life course theory, stress-coping and attachment theory), we will examine the effects of imprisonment on the further life courses of (ex-)offenders and their families. Additionally, possible explaining mechanisms for such effects will be investigated. The first theme within the research program concerns the functioning within prisons (e.g. the prisoner’s perception of confinement, prisoner’s adjustment, coping strategy and wellbeing, relationships between inmates, relationships with staff, wellbeing of prison officers).
The second theme concerns the potential collateral effects of imprisonment. While most studies examined effects of imprisonment on crime prevention, little is known about the effects of criminal justice sanctions on more conventional life domains such as socio-economic status, social integration, or psychological and physical health. Imprisonment is not only affecting the prisoners but also their families. Therefore, the effects on family members, such as partners and children, will also be examined.
top of page
Civil disabilities
dr. mr. Marijke Malsch
Courts may impose certain civil disabilities on persons convicted for particular crimes that have been specified in the Dutch Code of Criminal Law. Such a civil disability may include a prohibition to perform their professional activities, because it was exactly these activities that gave them the opportunity to commit this crime. For example, teachers who have sexually harassed their pupils can be convicted to this penalty, and, thus, be prohibited to act as a teacher, for a period of several years. Notaries, who have have embezzled money, may be subject to such a civil disability as well, thereby being forbidden to act as a notary. Not a lot is known about this penalty, how often it is imposed and whether it is effective in the sense that convicted persons are actually stopped from performing their profession in practice. This project, that is executed in commission by the RDC, investigates the reasons given for imposing this penalty, how often and in what types of cases it is imposed, and whether it is effective in restricting opportunities to commit similar crimes in the future.
top of page