Samenvatting

This article addresses the question whether restorative justice is embedded in the current policy and legal frameworks on crime prevention in several EU member states. Crime prevention is defined as all actions that are aimed to prevent involvement in crime (thus more than prevent re-offending only). Of course, the situation differs among the EU member states, but there is a growing awareness that restorative justice can play an important role in the prevention of crime, and is especially useful to meet the interests of victim and offender. Concerning the situation in the Netherlands, there are some promising developments and initiatives in which restorative justice approaches are advocated, for instance by a recent advice to the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Safety and Justice, in which restorative justice interventions are proposed within the juvenile justice system. Another relevant initiative is the joint effort to explore the boundaries of the Dutch diversion ‘Halt’ programme in order to apply this form of restorative practice more often, because of its estimated positive effects on victim and offender.