The distribution of child pornography on the internet is observed as a major social problem. In the Netherlands a lively political-social discussion has emerged concerning the manner in which this can be prevented. The discussion moves between two polarities. On the one hand the dangers of internet censure are emphasised and on the other hand the need for a clamp down in which every measure seems to be justified. The present government wants to combat child pornography and by doing so answer the moral indignation of society. A means that the Dutch government, and on her behalf the police, uses, is blocking websites with child-pornographic content. The possibilities of the Dutch government to filter effectively, however, are restricted. The accuracy of existing filters is low and it is easy to get around filters. In addition, opportunities are restricted by constitutional rights. A filter that stops all websites with child pornography is bound to stop legal internet traffic too. That is at odds with the constitutional rights of freedom of expression and freedom of information gathering. The realisation of a filter that respects fundamental rights and still is able to block child pornography requires a lot of police manpower. This comes at the expense of the tracking down of criminals who produce and distribute child pornography. Furthermore, it is unknown whether the use of the child-pornography filter leads to the purposes for which they are deployed, such as hindering the sale of child pornography or reducing the abuse of children. The police, therefore, is assigned to a task that requires a considerable amount of time, but the benefits of which are unclear.

Responding to criticism, stating that constructive interventions can only be understood as proven to reduce recidivism, the author clarifies what she conceives as constructive answers to juvenile delinquency, against the background of the Belgian developments in law and policy. ‘Constructive’ has always implied the active participation of those citizens directly involved, care and attention for the victims needs, and the avoidance of placement in a closed institution. The contribution to the quality of social life by making restorative gestures was considered to be of importance.To measure whether conferencing with juveniles would work the criterion of reducing recidivism is important, but not exclusive. Other criteria, which come forward in qualitative research, are at least as important.The Dutch seem to take managerialism in the sense of implementing only what can be proven to work in a preconceived way – only in terms of reducing recidivism – much more seriously than the Belgians do.In Belgium the traditional stress on protection of juveniles has not changed, and the newly introduced family group conferences were accepted as valuable procedures. Reducing recidivism is however not unimportant and more and more RJ-research is addressing this issue. There are indications that recidivism can be reduced by conferencing procedures and their resolutions. Instead of technocratic managerialism one should be interested in the ‘moral performance’ of a legal system, looking for what really matters.

This article sets the stage for the discussion on the role of legal professionals – lawyers and magistrates – in restorative practices. A common task they have is controlling the respect of fundamental rights of the participants in restorative justice practices. How important this task is, will vary according to different variables such as the goals of restorative justice programs and their position towards the criminal justice system. Lauwaert goes on to sketch in separate parts the possible roles of respectively magistrates and lawyers before, during and after mediation or conferences. She refers to the European legislative framework which foresees an important role for magistrates as gatekeepers and assessors of restorative outcomes and explores the strengths and problems these roles evoke. She refers to her own research to explore the attitudes of magistrates towards restorative practices. Concerning the role of lawyers, the European legislative framework is quite vague, and the article tries to analyse more in depth the possibilities and obstacles for lawyers to contribute to the quality of mediation. The lack of knowledge of and acquaintance with the world of restorative justice and mediation is detected as a serious obstacle for further development of this field of action.

In this article the author explores the role of the lawyer in one particular restorative practice in Flanders: mediation with adult offenders in the framework of the law of 22 June 2005. The author discusses the role the lawyers can play before, during and after the mediation. A striking fact is the extremely low number of references by lawyers to the mediation practice. As elsewhere in the literature, the role of the lawyer during the mediation is most under discussion, although it is clear that representation by the lawyer is not admitted.
Claes also describes the different attitudes mediators developed in actively involving lawyers, which vary from automatically contacting the lawyer of the parties to not contacting the lawyers at all. The motives behind these attitudes concern on the one hand the implementation of the right to legal assistance written in the law and on the other hand the empowerment of the parties and the concern to keep the conflict in the hands of the parties.
Finally, Claes shows how lawyers have been structurally involved in the mediation practice, for example as members of the steering committees of the local mediation services.

Public Private Partnerships (PPS) are becoming one of the most popular answers to problems of crime and disorder. In this contribution, the authors research the Collective Shop Ban, maybe the most successful form of Public Private Partnerships currently operating in the Netherlands. A Collective Shop Ban is a civil measure bestowed upon a person by the shop owner, when s/he displays ‘unwanted behaviour’. As a consequence entry can be denied for every shop assembled in the association of entrepreneurs. In 2007 almost 900 people have been denied access to over 450 shops in the city centre of The Hague. This new form of collaboration between police, public prosecution service and entrepreneurs has already been rewarded with the Regional Crime Control Platform ‘safety award’. However, the authors question the effects of this collaboration. They argue that the Collective Shop Ban creates its own public of ‘unwanted shoppers’, that can be banned from a shopping area by devising new terms of exclusion. This ‘public’ is subjected to new means of power, to be applied by private security guards and shop owners. While entrepreneurs celebrate the possibilities of this civil measure, the authors warn for the juridical and ethical consequences of this measure.

In Western languages those affected by crime are universally labelled as the sacrificed ones. This label is inspired by the suffering of Jesus Christ and evokes images of helplessness and meekness. It acts as hidden justification for the marginal, self-effacing role of victims in criminal procedure and restorative justice. The author argues for deconstruction of the stereotypical victim label and the creation of more space in criminal procedure for victims as autonomous parties. In his view the recent innovation in Dutch law of a limited Victim Impact Statement still gives victims insufficient voice. He also argues for a reconceptualisation of restorative justice practices as a supplement to the criminal trial rather than as a substitute.

John Blad reageert op het artikel De komende emancipatie van het slachtoffer van Jan van Dijk.

Research on magistrates’ penal attitudes has long been a blank spot in both the Netherlands and in Belgium. In the Netherlands, a theoretically integrated measurement instrument has been developed revealing the general structure of penal attitudes held by Dutch judges. It showed that the complex of penal attitudes is dominated by two independent perspectives: harsh treatment and social constructiveness. The latter perspective encompasses rehabilitation and restorative justice. Replicating the Dutch measurement instrument, penal attitudes of Belgian magistrates were recently examined. This article reports the results and compares them to earlier findings in the Netherlands. It is shown that, in contrast to Dutch magistrates’ penal attitudes, the structure of Belgian magistrates’ attitudes reveals an autonomous role for restorative justice. This finding and possible explanations are elaborated upon.

Renée Kool reageert op het artikel De komende emancipatie van het slachtoffer van Jan van Dijk.

In an editorial article the editors supply a commentary on the topics covered in the journal.

Tineke Cleiren reageert op het artikel De komende emancipatie van het slachtoffer van Jan van Dijk.

This article reviews Dutch literature on collateral effects of incarceration on various life circumstances: psychological and physical health; social-economic status; well-being of partners of (ex-)prisoners; and well-being of children of (ex-)prisoners. Dutch research is predominantly descriptive and examines life circumstances of the prisoners and their family members during or just after imprisonment. Additionally, almost all Dutch studies, aiming to investigate the causal effects of incarceration on life circumstances, are characterised by methodological shortcomings, such as a lack of a longitudinal design or control groups. Therefore, it is still difficult to draw conclusions on the causal effects of imprisonment on life trajectory.