Program Description

The Dutch society has a longstanding tradition of tolerance, diversity, and consensus-based politics. This translates into a very specific approach towards crime and justice issues that is known around the world. Examples of this approach can be seen in various fields such as the legalization of prostitution, the legalization of soft drugs, the medical instead of criminal justice approach towards hard drugs, and the way in which issues as juvenile crime, euthanasia, and gay marriage are dealt with.

This four-week program will deal with issues of criminal justice from a Dutch perspective and will explore such issues as the the history of this approach, its rationale, the way it works out in daily practice, etc. We will also take a look at recent changes in this approach, since events as the collapse of the Soviet Union, the globalization of the economy, and the threat of international terrorism have very much changed the 'crime landscape' in The Netherlands.

More specifically, the program will deal with Dutch criminal law and the functioning of the Dutch criminal justice system (police, courts, prisons, etc.). Many of these issues will be covered from a comparative perspective. Comparisons will refer to the United States but also to other European countries.

Lecturers in this program will come from very different backgrounds, including academics and policy makers and professionals in the field. The program will be hosted by Avans University where most of the classes will take place. Another part of the program consists of field trips. Trips in recent years included visits to a World War II concentration camp, a police station, a prison, a rehab program for addicts, an international court, and the Red Light District in Amsterdam.