1. Number of escapes;
2. Number of other withdrawals; 3. Occupation;
4. Use of violence between juveniles;
5. Use of violence against staff; 6. Number of reported
complaints by juveniles; 7. Schooling and training
programmes (STP) and experimental leave;
8. Day programme and address after departure;
9. Absence of staff ; 10.Budget control.
1. Results of custody plans; 2. Results of treatment plans; 3. Order measures and
disciplinary sanctions, including separation from the group;
4. Integrity staff.
1. Number of times the juvenile went on planned leave;
2. Number of urine controls; 3. Number of urine controls
testing positive;
4. Number of withdrawals of complaints;
5. Number of disabled staff; 6. Number of written
complaints;
7. Number of incidents regarding protection of information.
The data gathered by the DJI is put in the database TULP/JJI. This is an information system to which all the YCIs are connected. Every child present in an institution has a unique registration number. The database is not open to public use. In the case of serious incidents, the DJI has to be informed immediately by the directors. Information about such incidents are not registered in TULP/JJI.
The National Agency for Correctional Institutions (DJI) publishes data concerning the numbers of children in youth custodial institutions on its website. Data on incidents of violence are not published. It is therefore difficult to trace which information is available and how it is used, for individual responses or for making policy. Data is often collected or given upon the request of politicians or media after the occurrence of incidents. For the purposes of this research project, a formal Government Information (Public Access) Act request had to be sent to the Minister of Justice in order to be able to receive data specifically concerning violence against children in youth custodial institutions.65
The National Police monitor is published every two years in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Home Affairs.66The Research and Documentation Centre (WODC) is part of the Ministry of Justice and conducts research about judicial topics such as youth criminality. Since 1999, the WODC, the CBS and the DJI have a mutual
publication on developments of criminality and justice.67The annual publications contain statistical data in the field of criminal law based on existing databases and annual reports. Youth statistics are included.
The Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) is an independent (substantive) administrative body. The CBS undertakes research and publishes statistics on behalf of the government. Although the hierarchical relation between the Ministry and the CBS no longer exists, the Minister of Economic Affairs is responsible for the budget and the quality of the statistics. The CBS has a legal base under the Law for the CBS, 20 November 2003.68Database Statline contains a wide variety of national statistics and also has self-report figures of victims and offenders.69 The database is accessible via internet.
Each youth custodial institution has a Monitoring Board and, in turn, each board has a commission for complaints.70The numbers of complaints must be included in the annual report of the institution (see above). The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and the Protection of Juveniles (RSJ)) is an independent body with a legal base.71RSJ members are appointed by the Crown. It is an advisory body and a body for appeal.72The decisions are published anonymously in a database on its website.73
The Dutch Youth Institute (NJI) publishes the Database Effective Youth Intervention on its website.74All youth interventions concerning programmes on prevention, treatment and sanctions are mentioned. The research and policy database judicial documentation (OBDJ) is a database especially developed for the measurement of recidivism.
The analysis of the quantitative/statistical data can be complicated. For example, when reporting instances of violence or threat of violence by other children, is the institution reporting 20 cases more safe than the institution that gives notice of 215 cases?75And is the regime in the youth custodial institution where in 2006 a total of 1995 order measures and disciplinary punishments were given more alarming than that of the institution reporting a total number of 255 measures and punishments?76
In short, information and statistical data are collected by many different bodies. They are accessible via annual reports, publications and websites, or upon request. An annual
publication dedicated specifically to official youth statistics is missing. Statistical data relating to violence against children in youth custodial institutions are not included in the statistics which are made available to the public, for instance, data concerning the numbers of child injuries, child deaths including suicides, the use of force or instruments of restraint by staff, the use of closed or solitary confinement, or complaints made by detainees relating to violence. Though some of the weak parts in the data collection process are seemingly difficult to prevent, the lack of transparency with regard to the occurrence of violence in the YCIs should be solved immediately.
6.5 The Fifteen Juvenile Justice Indicators
“When government officials and the institutions making up the juvenile justice system do not
have information either about the functioning of the system or the children who are in contact with it, abuse, violence and exploitation can occur with impunity, and the experience of the child is unlikely to be in his or her best interests. … A child may spend too long periods deprived of liberty or be sentenced to a measure that is inappropriate for ensuring his or her welfare. A delay in a child’s case may go unnoticed for months or even years. Government officials may find it difficult to assess the impact of new juvenile justice policies or guidelines. In short, a failure to carefully record and strategically make use of juvenile justice related information contributes to a failure to ensure the protection of the child in conflict with the law.”77
In 2007, Unicef and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published a ‘Manual for the measurement of juvenile justice indicators’. The manual is the result of a long process to identify and promote the use of global juvenile justice indicators.78
The main purpose of the manual is to introduce 15 juvenile justice indicators and to make clear their utility. It contains practical guidance, strategies and tools for information
Other important sources of information on children in conflict with the law include research findings by several independent entities such as Advisory Bureau Van Montfoort, Verwey-Jonker Institute, PI Research and FORA. Relevant academic research is carried out by several universities. The Amsterdam Centre for Child Studies in partnership with the Free University of Amsterdam (ACK) is known for research on juvenile justice, and has broad expertise concerning child safety and protection issues.
Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) regularly carry out policy research on children’s rights issues. Particularly Defence for Children International Netherlands is active in the field of juvenile justice. The Children’s Rights Coalition cooperates in making shadow reports for the Committee on the Rights of the Child preceding the report of the government every four years (Defence for Children International Netherlands, Kinderrechtswinkels/Childrens Rights Shops, Unicef Netherlands, Plan Netherlands, Nederlands Jeugdinstituut/Dutch Youth Institute, Jantje Beton, Nationale
Jeugdraad/National Youth Council, Save the Children and Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland).
Indicator: an indicator provides a common way of measuring and presenting information that reveals whether standards are being met.79
collection, information collation and calculation of the indicators. For each indicator there are suggested categories of disaggregation. The indicators provide a framework for
measuring and presenting specific information about the situation of children in conflict with the law. This information concerns both quantitative values, such as the number of children in detention on a particular census date, and qualitative values concerning the existence of relevant policy. They are not designed to provide complete information on all aspects of children in conflict with the law in a particular country. Rather, they are intended as a basic dataset and comparative tool that offers a starting point for assessment, evaluation and service and policy development.80