Public safety governance has been characterised in many ways. Literature mentions traditional sanctions for purposes of repression, policy programs aiming for prevention, as well as cooperation of public, private and hybrid organizations in addressing public safety problems. Very recently, a so called culture of precaution, in which problems of public safety are to be addressed at a very early – premature – stage, would have entered the scene. This potential culture of precaution is topic of this article. The article aims to indicate the empirical manifestations of a culture of precaution, as mentioned in literature, in contemporary public safety governance. The central question is as follows: to what extent and in what way is contemporary public safety governance on municipality level characterised by the precautionary principle? Five municipalities within the police region of Utrecht, varying in size from 40.000 to 300.000 citizens, have been studied; Amersfoort, Bunschoten, Utrecht, Woerden and Zeist. In total 153 measures addressing problems of public safety have been analyzed for characteristics of precaution. In order to do so, a model has been developed which locates precaution next to traditional strategies for addressing public safety. It will be demonstrated that a culture of precaution is not empirically present in public safety governance on municipality level. However, contemporary public safety governance does appear to posses some minor characteristics of the precaution paradigm.

Due to immigration the Dutch have made a significant contribution to the development of New Zealand, especially in the field of juvenile justice and adoption. As for New Zealand’s Youth Justice Service, the introduction of the Children, Young Persons, and Their Families Act in 1989 has been a landmark in New Zealand’s history of dealing with juvenile delinquency. While it was not designed as a restorative justice system, the current system is tuned towards restorative justice. Until then, New Zealand had a shameful history as far as the handling of juvenile delinquency is concerned. The Maori, whose youngsters were – and still are – overrepresented in juvenile statistics, heavily criticized this model, emphasizing the need to strengthen the bond between the (extended) family and the juvenile offender, as well as the need to provide for redress. In the same period, the United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights (UNCROC) was introduced (1989), the Act of 1989 paying tribute to the UNCROC. As the national juvenile justice system to some extent does not live up to the standards of the UNCROC, there remains room for improvement. However, black clouds gather over New Zealand’s juvenile justice system, for the present government has announced to be in favor of a punitive oriented policy; there is a call to get ‘tough on juvenile crime’. This policy, however, implies setting back the clock and endangers the current orientation on restorative justice, as well as the legal values set out by the UNCROC.

This article provides a perspective on the development of restorative justice practice in Northern Ireland. The island of Ireland has a standing history as to the use of restorative justice. In fact, the earliest restorative form of law dates from 2000 BCE, the so-called Brehon Laws. To date, Northern Ireland features as a divided society; over the past 35 years intercommunity conflict brought devastation and heartbreak to the health of the community. Nevertheless, initial soundings were heard as to how the practice of restorative justice might be re-introduced to Northern Ireland. Already in 1989, the Probation Board indicated its intention of piloting a Victim Offender Mediation Programme. From that time, serious attempts were undertaken to implement restorative justice within the North-Irish society. Initiatives were undertaken by Republican as well as Loyalist communities, both being eager to move away from violent community based justice. Special attention was given towards juvenile crime. In 2000 this interest in restorative justice led to a commitment from the North-Irish authorities to put restorative justice matters at the heart of the criminal justice system for young offenders. As a result, in the Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002 the Youth Conference Service was initiated. Between 2003 and the present, Youth Conference Orders or Plans have been the most common disposals for adjudicated offenders up to eighteen years of age. The focus is on the parties resolving how the young person can make amends to the victim and what can be done to prevent further offending. All Agencies linked into the Youth Justice system recognize the special needs of young people. Recent figures show the numbers of young people going into youth custody in Northern Ireland have decreased due to the use of restorative justice models.

The author notes that the growth of restorative justice practices seems to be hampered by the consequences of the effective socialization into the ‘penal equation’ that presents punishment as the necessary consequence of criminal offending. Upbringing in a different conflict-culture may be a fundamental condition for creating more room for restorative justice in the formal sphere of criminal justice. The need for a different socialization is also noted and discussed in the movement for human rights and has resulted in an Action Plan for human rights education of UNESCO in 2005. A satisfactory implementation of this action plan seems to be absent in the Netherlands today and methods of human rights education do not refer at all to the potentials of restorative practices such as peer mediation in schools. On the other hand, authors in restorative justice do not often refer to human rights and how they are promoted. The author claims that it is plausible that making ample room for peer mediation and conferencing in schools can be an effective way, not only to address offending conduct that often implies a breach of basic human rights – the most basic values therein being human dignity and equality – but also to make new generations aware of the meaning of human rights in their daily interactions and the qualities of their own social life.

This contribution starts with an introduction of human rights, children’s rights and restorative justice. What are the links and differences between these concepts and how do they interrelate? An overview of human rights for children in international standards relevant to the discussion on juvenile justice, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and additional instruments, is given. It is examined how restorative justice fits in this framework.
Human rights are one of the main pillars of our modern society. General juvenile justice principles such as diversion, the use of detention only as a measure of last resort and focusing on re-integration give a clear basis for restorative justice practice. Recent international and European conventions, guidelines and recommendations dealing with juvenile justice explicitly recommend the use of restorative justice. It is actually seen as the main priority focus of the reaction to youth criminality. The Committee on the Rights of the Child declared in General Comment 10 that the best interests of the child imply that the traditional aims of criminal justice – repression and retribution – should make room for rehabilitation and reintegration. Today’s focus on youth delinquency should be a restorative one. But how to implement rather broad notions such as restorative justice in individual cases and to make them fulfil internationally accepted human rights standards. With the model of Mitchell and Moore it is explored how children’s rights (mainly article 40 and the main principles of the CRC) and restorative justice are connected and how they can use each other. The need is stressed and some tools are given to work towards a ‘rights based restorative justice’.

This article examines the relationship between the juridical status of asylum migrants (accepted asylum migrants with a residence permit or citizenship, still in procedure, illegal residence) and crime. We argue that a weak legal status results in socio-economic deprivation that can result in criminal involvement. Using both registrations of asylum seekers as well as police data about suspects of offences, we find that rejected asylum seekers that remain in the country illegally are more involved in crime than asylum seekers still in procedure, who in turn are more often registered as a suspect than accepted asylum migrants with a residence permit or Dutch citizenship. We also find that rejected asylum migrants are more involved in ‘survival crimes’ like theft. In other words: having a weak legal status increases rates of offending, especially property crimes. When studying the relation between social inequality and crime, it is important to take the juridical status of immigrants into consideration.

This article focuses on migration with criminal motives. Two specific groups are discussed, British migrants in the Netherlands and Dutch migrants in Spain. Little is written on criminal migration motives in combination with Western subjects. On the other hand, investigative authorities have first-hand knowledge on this matter. An analysis of 25 closed case files shows that within these two groups of migrants, some people are heavily involved in the international drugs trade. Although their numbers are small, their function is important. Through their actions it becomes possible for certain cities or areas to evolve into international criminal drug marketplaces. There are also some differences between British and Dutch criminals abroad. British criminals are often involved as brokers. They broker drugs for third parties in Great Britain. Their stay in the Netherlands seems temporarily. They do not invest in the economy or buy property. Conversely, Dutch criminals in Spain could be described as leaders of organized crime groups. They invest in Spain by buying companies and property.

This article describes the officially recorded criminal careers from age twelve to 22 for all boys and girls who were born in the Netherlands in 1984. Using data on police contacts (HKS) we ask: (1) What proportion of the 1984 birth cohort has a police contact between ages twelve and 22?, (2) What are the criminal career characteristics of those registered?, (3) What is the nature of the crimes these youths are registered for?, and (4) How do chronic offenders and recidivists differ from one-time offenders? We answer these questions separately for boys and girls and for youths of different ethnic origin. Ethnicity was based on the country of birth of (one of) the parents. Our results show that 23 percent of men and 5 percent of women born in 1984 had at least one police contact prior to age 23. Youths of non-Dutch origin were overrepresented in police registrations. Overrepresentation was strongest for boys of Moroccan origin: 54 percent was registered at least once, and of those registered one third were registered five times or more. Moroccan girls were also overrepresented.

This article focuses on the differences in perception that appear when the English and Dutch discourses on anti-social behaviour and street terror are compared. The political and media discourses in the Netherlands focus on the migration background of the youth responsible (mainly Moroccan juveniles) whereas in England and Wales the possible influence of discrimination is stressed. The analysis of the two discourses reveals that although the problems in the two countries are in essence comparable, very different discourses have developed.

Starting a decade ago, police authorities in Western Europe have been dealing with (South)Eastern European gangs coming over to Western Europe. These gangs commit a large number of property crimes and are characterised by their high level of mobility. Yet, this raises questions as to how their mobility has to be interpreted: is it temporary, making them criminal tourists, or are there any migration mechanisms involved? This article is based on interviews with offenders charged with selling criminal goods (i.e. fencing). Fencing activities appear to take place either in Western Europe or in the countries of origin. Alongside these activities, their centre of social activity appears to be located in either one of them as well. This heterogeneity indicates there is little added value in combating the Eastern European crime gangs, because different offender types with a different background are involved.

In this thematic issue various angles of crime and migration are addressed. This introductory article focuses on differences in the debate and research on crime and migration in the Netherlands and Belgium. According to the authors (and editors of this issue) both sound research and a critical debate is needed in order to prevent rash conclusions which might exclude large groups of immigrants, asylum seekers and others. This special issue demonstrates the diversity of the relations between migration and crime and the various angles from which these can be studied.

Economists like to think in terms of markets, where supply and demand meet. There are, however, also ‘real’ criminal markets where either supply and demand of illegal goods or services can meet, or where perpetrators ‘receive’ a financial penalty for his/her illegal acts. This article focuses on economic research in the field of these markets, especially where it concerns victimless crimes.