This is an ethnographic evaluation study on a train the trainer programme (Diamant) for the prevention of political radicalisation among young Muslims in the Netherlands. Especially the training of independent judgement on moral issues looks promising to overcome cultural disorientation. Its preventive power for radicalisation is unclear since there were no radicals among the participants of the training.

In 2011 we executed a quantitative and qualitative research on the extent of discrimination, polarisation and radicalisation in a region in the Netherlands. The results are representative for The Netherlands. The research shows that there is breeding ground for radicalization, in particular Muslim youths. The outcome also provides insights in relevant avenues for public policy. Over the past years, several inventories have been made of public policy that aims to counter radicalisation. Most of the interventions listed do not conjure with the interventions we propose on the basis of our research, such as awareness raising for practitioners, prevention of and education about discrimination, focus on neighbourhood grievances and nuisances caused by specific ethnic groups and the negative tone of the public debate regarding Islam and the multicultural society. If measures to counter radicalization are even evaluated, they tend to focus on the process and effectiveness of the intervention, but they do not answer the question if that is actually also the right intervention. We therefore propose not only to focus on doing things right, but also to ask the question if we are doing the right things. We suggest not only measuring effectiveness, but also measuring impact.

Halt is a Dutch organization for enforcement of alternative punishment given tot juveniles and prevention activities, like for example advisory services and educational programmes. In the context of the Government action programme Polarization and Radicalization – a programme to reduce the chances of people to become a radical or even a terrorist − the Halt offices in Limburg in cooperation with the KPC Group developed an education kit of six lessons meant for juveniles (primary school and secondary education). The lessons are given by Halt fellow workers and the teacher of the class is there for give them support and to observe the lessons. This project is qualitatively evaluated and the conclusion is as follows. The reason for the project is not located in a problem of radicalization, the final target group is more restricted than intended and in the implementation the words radicalization and polarization may not be used. Is it then a good educational package? Yes, say different Halt employees, but not for the problem raised, because that problem is not identified by them.

In this article a longitudinal effect study is described of resilience training Diamant. The training focuses in particular on adolescents with a dual identity who do not have work, are not enrolled in an education, feel unfairly treated (relatively deprived), have low self-esteem, and are at risk of social isolation. The training can be considered as a method to prevent development of criminal behaviour and possibly radicalisation. Certified trainers work with small groups of 10 to 15 adolescents to increase their resilience and help them finding their place in society. The present research focused on the following questions: (1) Does this training have a positive effect on self-esteem among the participants? (2) Does social isolation decrease as a consequence of the training? (3) Does the training reduce feelings of relative deprivation and help participants better deal with conflicts? Participants were interviewed before and halfway the training and directly after completing the training. A follow-up measurement three months after the end of the training examined effects on the longer term. In total 44 semi-structured interviews were held. Interviews were written out and coded using a two-step procedure: In the first step two researchers independently coded each interview. Second, when necessary, changes in the coding scheme were made. Then each interview was coded separately by the two researchers and disagreements were discussed until full agreement was reached. The results show that Diamant has a positive effect on self-esteem of participants. Also, participants overall showed an increase in connectedness to society. Third, Diamant reduced feelings of relative deprivation and participants indicated they could better deal with conflicts. Based on these results it is concluded that Diamant is effective in regard to its goals which were evaluated in this study. Limitations of the research and possibilities for future studies are discussed.

Preventive interventions against terrorist attacks can be justified on legal and moral grounds. The Dutch broad-based approach against terrorism also addresses radicalizations processes. It is, however, hard to justify why a government in a liberal democracy should be allowed to intervene in processes of radicalization where danger to society is not obvious. A reason to justify intervention is when a (former) radical asks for help. Theories based on the ideas of Kant and Rawls also allow for intervention if an individual’s autonomy is diminished because he is member of a sect or under the spell of a charismatic leader. Other interventions with regard to (prevention of) radicalization cannot be justified by deontological theories such as Kant’s and Rawls’. Virtue ethics or teleology would, however, allow interventions but only if they are geared towards helping the individual in their quest to the good life. This justification allows for interventions that are, for example, focused on supporting individuals to critically reflect, reason and discuss about the good life and a just society. Based on the teleological justification constraints can be derived for preventive interventions with regard to radicalization or even deradicalisation. Notice that individuals cannot be forced to join these programs because there is no legal basis.

Conferencing is a restorative justice practice which has started developing quite consistently since the 1990s, in majority in Anglophone countries such as New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Canada or the UK and in particular with consistently promising results for juvenile justice in Northern Ireland. Some continental European, Latin American and African countries are also starting to introduce this alternative to traditional criminal justice, especially in the case of juvenile justice, with some equally promising results. This article presents up-to-date information about the state of conferencing in the world and discusses some of the major conclusions that have come out of a European research project and book.

At the end of 2000, a pilot project began in Flanders (Belgium) to offer family group conferencing for juvenile offenders. Since June 2006, this restorative practice – together with victim-offender mediation – has been inserted in the new Youth Justice Act, making conferencing available in all judicial districts in Flanders. Five years later, however, the mediation-services had to conclude that the number of referrals for conferencing remains rather limited. This observation inspired the mediation services to take actions to bring conferencing more to the attention. This article reports on the findings of a study that was part of this process. Based on (1) an analysis of all conferencing-files that were referred between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 31, (2) focus groups with youth court social workers and criminologists working at the level of the public prosecutor and (3) surveys conducted with youth judges, the study aimed to identify and discuss barriers and obstacles within the current referral practice of conferencing in Flanders.

At the end of 2000, a pilot project began in Flanders (Belgium) to offer family group conferencing for juvenile offenders. Since June 2006, this restorative practice – together with victim-offender mediation – has been inserted in the new Youth Justice Act, making conferencing available in all judicial districts in Flanders. Five years later, however, the mediation-services had to conclude that the number of referrals for conferencing remains rather limited. This observation inspired the mediation services to take actions to bring conferencing more to the attention. This article reports on the findings of a study that was part of this process. Based on (1) an analysis of all conferencing-files that were referred between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 31, (2) focus groups with youth court social workers and criminologists working at the level of the public prosecutor and (3) surveys conducted with youth judges, the study aimed to identify and discuss barriers and obstacles within the current referral practice of conferencing in Flanders.

This article sketches an experiment initiated by a local mediation service in Flanders (BAL) with regard to the role of a supporting volunteer in the context of family group conferencing. Engaged as researchers in this experiment, the authors reconstruct the conceptual challenges of this project and the solution proposed by the team of mediators. One of these challenges revolves around finding an appropriative account of restorative justice that fits with the aims of the Belgian conferencing practice and clarifies the role of the supporting volunteer. Another comes down to distinguishing this role with the essential tasks of the moderator, and formulating deontological devices. In the last part of this contribution a few learning points are formulated with regard to the process and results of the experiment. One of these points is the need to rethink how successfully offering the possibility of engaging a supporting volunteer to the stake holding parties.

The number of Internet users who reported they have come into contact with cybercrime is substantial. This article examines three forms of cybercrime, namely: hacking, cyber stalking and cyber threats. Because cybercrime is relatively extensive in the life of Dutch citizens, it is important to gain insight into factors that influence victimization. By means of a secondary analysis of data from the first Dutch national cybercrime victim survey (N=9,161), it is assessed to which extend online behaviours affect victimization. In particular, online behaviours involving the use of communication applications affect victimization of the three aforementioned cybercrimes. The article provides suggestions for further research into cybercrime victimization.

Scientific research on cybercrime has mainly focused on its technological aspects. There is a lack of knowledge regarding the human factor in cybercrime. In this article we focus on the human factor and address the question to what extent crackers (criminal hackers) are similar to other criminals. We analyse socio-demographic characteristics as well as criminal careers of crackers in comparison to those of other criminals. We employ Dutch police data on criminal suspects from 1996-2009. Our results show that hacking suspects are quite similar to other criminals with respect to both socio-demographic characteristics and their criminal careers.

Identity fraud is a rapidly growing problem, as shown by recent volume estimates from victim surveys. Little is known however about the amount of financial damage among victims of this crime, especially in the Dutch context. This article studies victims of unauthorized cash withdrawal from their bank account, which is one of the most common forms of identity fraud. For this, we use data on 180 victims from the representative LISS panel. The results show that the financial implications of this type of crime experience vary widely between victims. While many victims are disadvantaged for only a small amount of money (for almost 40 per cent is about less than 50 euros ), a quarter of this group suffers from substantial money loss of more than 500 euros. Nevertheless, the vast majority (85 per cent) are completely reimbursed by their banks. Eventually, only in rare cases victims suffer significant permanent money loss. Remarkably, the low educated are significantly less often reimbursed by their banks.

It is assumed that the online world creates new possibilities for criminal behaviour. Only recently criminologists started the debate on the applicability of traditional criminological theories to cybercrime offending. Data retrieved from the national Dutch survey Youth & Cybersafety indicate that cyberbullying behaviour is not only strongly interwoven with traditional bullying behaviours, but is also affected by the distinct features of the online environment. The findings give support to the suggestion that the aetiological schema to explain cyberbullying should postulate the interaction between individual characteristics, distinct features of the online environment and the interaction between offline and online social realities.

This special issue introduces the topic of cybercrime to Dutch criminology. First, it raises the major substantive issues that computer technology involves for criminology, in terms of crime volume, people involved in crime, and the ways that crimes are committed. Also, it deals with research literature on cybercrime on various topics, such as survey methodology, crime prevention and Internet applications open to justice professionals in the fight against crime. Overall, the article concludes that much research remains to be done in this relatively new field.