In some countries people are looked upon as misfits or incorrigible outcasts and are locked up and the keys thrown away. In some instances people are locked away and investigations into crimes are conducted thereon. People rot in prisons. In other situations countries are taking a far more enlightened, intelligent approach. This article is about the how.
Why are there so few prisoners in the Netherlands?
The Dutch justice system is cutting jail populations by offering specialist rehabilitation to people with mental illnesses.
When Stefan Koning, who has a history of psychosis, was found guilty of threatening a stranger with a knife, a long custodial sentence might have felt like the only answer. In fact, after a short spell in jail, he is back at his home in Amsterdam.
 Psychiatrist Melina Rakic says the backgrounds of people who go through the Dutch psychological rehabilitation programme are always complex. - Inforsa |
 Hommo Folkerts, a Dutch psychologist and outreach worker. - The Guardian |
“Bob is a character from Twin Peaks, a murderer who creeps into the skin of innocent people and makes them do terrible things like murder,” says Koning. “There’s a Bob in me who says ‘kill this person’, that sort of thing. If I take my medicines, Bob is quiet.”
Koning is a beneficiary of a growing tendency in the Netherlands to avoid jailing people unless it is necessary. One key aspect of this is a prodigious programme of care in the community for people with psychiatric problems.
“We work on two aims: number one, preventing another crime, and then on psychiatric suffering and the social problems that come with it,” says Hommo Folkerts, a forensic psychologist and outreach worker who helps Koning.
“We don’t treat people with just depression – it’s people with psychotic vulnerability, autism, severe learning difficulties, often in combination with severe personality disorders, addictions, financial problems, no good home or links with family, and often they are traumatised.
“Nobody would approve of the crimes or violence they have committed, but there is a very sad world behind them. If you want to mend all this, it will take a long time.”
Today plummeting prison sentences have left the Netherlands with an unusual problem: it doesn’t have enough inmates to fill its prisons, even after renting out places to Norway and Belgium.
Since 2014, 23 prisons have been shut, turning into temporary asylum centres, housing and hotels. The country has Europe’s third-lowest incarceration rate, at 54.4 per 100,000 inhabitants. According to the Justice Ministry’s WODC Research and Documentation Centre, the number of prison sentences imposed fell from 42,000 in 2008 to 31,000 in 2018 – along with a two-thirds drop in jail terms for young offenders. Registered crimes plummeted by 40% in the same period, to 785,000 in 2018.
The intelligent options
Deferred Adjudication / Pretrial Diversion
Certain types of offenses and offenders may qualify for programmes that result in having charges dismissed if the defendant completes specified conditions. Sometimes called deferred adjudication or diversion, these programmes take the defendant out of the ordinary process of prosecution so he or she can complete certain conditions. Once he or she is done, either the prosecutor or the court dismisses the charges.
The goal of diversion programmes is to allow a defendant time to demonstrate that they are capable of behaving responsibly, and they are typically used for drug offenses or first-time offenders. Normally, the conditions imposed include some form of counselling and/or probation, and require the defendant to stay out of trouble.
Alternative sentencing programmes
What is alternative sentencing?
Alternative sentencing programmes give people convicted of drug offenses the opportunity to seek rehabilitation instead of incarceration. Qualifications for these programmes include a non-violent drug offense, no criminal record, completion of an evaluation, and demonstration of a motivation to change. Keep in mind that you will need to complete the rehab programme, and these programmes may not be available in every area. In a society that’s becoming increasingly aware of the personal and social costs of drug abuse, the need for effective treatment has become more obvious than ever.
Getting addicted to drugs usually means getting involved with crime. Drug dependency often requires stealing from others or selling drugs in order to support a growing habit. Even if you’ve never had a criminal record in your life, drug and alcohol addiction can drive you to steal, lie and commit crimes you wouldn’t have dreamed of in the past.
But is punishment really the answer to substance abuse? The lure of drugs like cocaine, meth, heroin and alcohol is so powerful that it can overcome a fear of going to jail, losing a job or even losing a family. Without the treatment you need to recover from your addiction, you’re likely to end up in exactly the same position as soon as you’ve finished your sentence. Alternative sentencing programmes offer hope to nonviolent drug offenders, giving them the opportunity to begin new lives instead of being incarcerated without adequate treatment for their disease.
Choosing treatment over punishment
Alternative sentencing programmes are based on the belief that rehab is a more effective solution for new offenders than prison. Alternative sentencing acknowledges the fact that drugs can turn the best of us into criminals, and that each of us deserves a chance to recover from the disease of addiction. For many of the offenders who are diverted into these programmes, alternative sentencing is their first real opportunity to have a shot at medically supervised rehabilitation.
Who qualifies?
Who qualifies for alternative sentencing? You may be a candidate for rehabilitation instead of incarceration if you:
* Committed a nonviolent crime, such as drug possession or drug dealing
* Do not have a criminal record
* Demonstrate that you can benefit from outpatient or inpatient rehab
* Complete an evaluation with a mental health professional or addiction counsellor
* Show that you’re dedicated to getting clean and sober and leading a drug-free, crime-free life
Making a commitment to recovery
Alternative sentencing requires a commitment on your part if you want to complete the programme successfully. You will probably be required to go through a period of probation and undergo regular drug screening at an authorized facility. You’ll need to arrange your schedule to include regular meetings with a probation officer, mental health professional or addiction counsellor.
If your treatment team believes you can overcome your addiction in an outpatient setting, you may be referred to an outpatient treatment centre, where you’ll participate in individual therapy, family counselling and support groups. If your addiction is more advanced, your counsellor or case manager may recommend that you spend time at the best private inpatient rehabilitation facility.
After you’ve completed an intensive rehab programme, you might be referred to a group home where you can lead a clean, sober life in your community.
How alternative sentencing helps you and your community
Alternative sentencing helps the community as well as the offender. Throughout the country, the criminal justice system is overloaded with drug-related cases. While incarceration is necessary in some cases to keep the public safe, putting nonviolent offenders in jail may simply cost the community money without providing a long-term solution to the problem of addiction.
The benefits of alternative sentencing are far-reaching:
* Choosing rehabilitation instead of incarceration may save taxpayers’ money by helping drug offenders get out of the criminal justice system and stay clean. A Research Triangle Institute study of 150 felony offenders in a drug treatment programme in Brooklyn, New York found that rehabilitation saved the New York City system over $7 million.
* Alternative sentencing diverts nonviolent offenders out of the system, so that the courts aren’t overwhelmed with drug cases.
* Drug rehabilitation gets to the root cause of drug-related crime instead of perpetuating the problem by sending nonviolent offenders straight to prison.
* Alternative sentencing lets offenders remain in the community, where they can continue to work, take care of their loved ones and make a contribution to society.
* Outpatient drug rehab programmes may benefit the offender’s family by allowing children to continue having regular contact with their parents.
Most importantly, drug rehabilitation gives you the opportunity to delve into the causes of your addiction, heal wounds from your past and mend broken relationships with partners, children, friends or employers. Drug rehabilitation doesn’t erase the past, but it gives you a foundation for making a new start.
Do tough sentences for drug crimes help the public?
Mandatory minimum sentencing is a tough crime-fighting measure, imposing an obligatory sentence on offenders who are convicted of a drug-related crime. But do these severe measures really benefit the community or the offender? In a study of the cost-effectiveness of incarceration sponsored by the Drug Policy Research Centre, authors found that:
* Drug addiction treatment may reduce personal and property crime by as much as 15 percent more than incarceration.
* In a 15-year comparison of the results of treatment versus incarceration, treatment proved more cost-effective to society, suggesting that treatment is a better long-term solution.
* Mandatory minimum sentencing is only cost-effective in the case of heavy drug dealers.
* Drug addiction treatment and standard sentencing terms are more effective at reducing drug consumption and drug-related crime than mandatory minimum sentences.
Life shouldn’t end with an arrest
If you are arrested for a nonviolent, drug-related crime, you may have the opportunity to participate in an alternative sentencing programme run by your state or county government. Law enforcement agents, prosecutors and defense attorneys are often willing to help first-time offenders get treatment instead of sending them straight into the criminal justice system, where they will be exposed to violence and further substance abuse.
Looking to the future
After completing an alternative sentencing programme, the court may dismiss your case or reduce your sentence. But drug rehab is much more than an opportunity to avoid or minimize jail time; it’s a chance to start a new life on new terms. Diversion programmes help both the offender and the public by treating the causes of addiction rather than dishing out punishment to offenders who’ve never had a chance to heal.
Alternative sentencing is a humane, cost-effective way to help communities reduce drug use and prevent drug-related crime.
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