Posted on 06/15/2009 1:27:57 PM PDT by knighthawk
THE HAGUE, 16/06/09 - Prison sentences are in many cases not carried out. The judges that give these sentences do not know this, says conservative (VVD) MP Fred Teeven.
In 2005, the government announced that in exceptional cases, criminals with short prison sentences would not have to serve these. They were given electronic house arrest via a GPS ankle-band. The temporary measure was taken because there was a shortage of prison cells. But Teeven has discovered that the policy has become standard, even though there is a cell surplus now.
In 2008, Teeven discovered, 2,040 persons were only given house arrest though sentenced to prison for up to three months. These are almost never small criminals, because they in any case practically never receive prison sentences, stresses the MP. Teeven was himself a well-known public prosecutor for years.
As an example of gangsters who "can sit on the couch at home with a crate of beer," Teeven named persons "who have robbed old women several times." The judges imposing the prison sentence do not know this sentence is not carried out, according to Teeven. He is demanding that the measure should be got rid of and has requested an interlocutory debate.
Teeven is particularly furious because Justice State Secretary Nebahat Albayrak announced only two weeks ago the closure of eight prisons, with 1,200 job losses. The reason she gave was that the Netherlands has become safer. "They invent a story that there is a surplus of cells. This is deceiving the public," Teeven told TV programme Nova.
Albayrak confirms that although the non-lockup policy was only brought in as a temporary measure in 2005, the measure has been made standard until at least 2010 because "It has meanwhile been discovered that electronic house arrest offers many advantages".
Ping
Stiff hard labor sentences that are short and to the point do a far better than prison sentences, except for those who pose a danger to society. But why any system would let someone who robbed an old lady just sit on the couch is beyond me. Have him shovel coal or build roads for 3 months. He’ll never reoffend (or at least recidivism will be cut by 80%).
I’m sure Arnie could arrange to send them at least 100,000 from California to eliminate their emptyness problem!
We are so over crowded that they are building new ones.
AMSTERDAM - 147 murders were committed in the Netherlands last year, one fewer than in 2006 and therefore a record low, according to the annual report from Elsevier.
http://www.expatica.com/nl/articles/news/Record-low-murder-rate-once-again.html
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