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Netherlands: "black criminals"

01 November 1997

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The Dutch cabinet has decided to focus attention on black youths with criminal records. Ministers Zorgdrager and Dijkstal, of the justice and home affairs departments, have combined to produce a series of measures to counter levels of "black youth crime" which they describe as running at least three times that of white youths of the same age.

The ministers recognise that such high rates of ethnic minority crime is largely due to "socio-economic and socio-cultural depravation". They go on to state that "youths need to be offered a programme that is made to measure for them and takes their background into account as well as their potential".

However, according to the NRC Handelsblad, the main proposal consists of forcing "problem" youth to sign a "citizenship contract", committing them to work with a "route partner" who will supervise their progress. If they break any part of their citizenship contract unmentioned punitive consequences will then follow.

The only overt concession made by Zorgdrager and Dijkstal to the above mentioned "socio-economic and cultural deprivation" is to introduce a school programme that targets childrens' language difficulties. This will be combined with more attention being placed on ethnic minority childrens' school attendance records, including regional monitoring.

NRC Handelblad Weekeditie, 11.11.97.

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