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Apparently crime is on the down swing in the Netherlands and they are closing prisons and laying off guards. I believe that they still have pretty strict gun control laws. Why would their felons be going away?

During the 1990s the Netherlands faced a shortage of prison cells, but a decline in crime has since led to overcapacity in the prison system. The country now has capacity for 14,000 prisoners but only 12,000 detainees.

Deputy justice minister Nebahat Albayrak announced on Tuesday that eight prisons will be closed, resulting in the loss of 1,200 jobs. Natural redundancy and other measures should prevent any forced lay-offs, the minister said.

The overcapacity is a result of the declining crime rate, which the ministry's research department expects to continue for some time.

I wonder if decriminalizing marijuana and prostitution has anything to do with it?

- Jim

Whatever came of the Dutch guys who were charged, or something, with killing the Alabama girl in Aruba a few years back? IIRC, they were released. That freed up a couple of cells.

Natalee Holloway, God rest her soul.

Probable cause could never be found against the suspects.

- Jim

seamusTX wrote:I wonder if decriminalizing marijuana and prostitution has anything to do with it?

- Jim

Hard to say. Marijuana & prostitution have been legal in the Netherlands for decades now. I suspect that any benefits of lower crime from decriminalization of those two industries would have been accrued within the first 5 years or so afterward, which would fail to explain more recent reductions. I think the continuing decline in crime stats is possibly due to other factors like the Netherland's rapidly declining birth rate. The elderly tend not to commit crimes.

seamusTX wrote:Natalee Holloway, God rest her soul.

Probable cause could never be found against the suspects.

- Jim

Yes, from Mountain Brook. Didn't one of the boys run around bragging about her murder and wasn't he still absolved?

I wonder if there are changes in their immigration trends recently. Like many countries in Western Europe, the Netherlands has a higher crime rate among their guest workers than among citizens with traditional Dutch cultural values. A quick google search turns up this recent article.
http://europenews.dk/en/node/23457" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

seamusTX wrote:I wonder if decriminalizing marijuana and prostitution has anything to do with it?

- Jim

Prostitution has been pretty much legal forever. It isn't allowed on the street. So i doubt if that has had much effect. Marijauna use in small quantities was decriminalized in 76. It was sold in the streets. I was in Amsterdam around 86, and learned what the word pusher really meant. They were very aggressive about selling the pot and they weren't shy about getting in the face of American Tourist in an attempt to sell it. Since my visit, sales have moved into the coffee houses and off the street. The stuff on streets when I was there was sold by the sleazier street people, They were selling hash, I assume because it was easier to smugggle in. Today they sell all varieties of cannabis and most is home grown, no smuggling.
The decrease in prison population has been occuring since the 90s. It could be due any number of things but I believe taking the drugs from underground and off the streets has something to do with it.
I ran into this:

By European standards, it's easy to get a gun legally in the Netherlands. The requirements are that you have to have been a member of a shooting club for a year, be 18 years or older, prove that you can handle firearms safely, have enough shots to your name and you obviously can't have a criminal record. The actual procedure for buying a gun is arcane and requires approval from the shooting club and the police. You must keep the gun in a safe in your home (so it's no use for self-defense), you're only allowed to transport it to and from the shooting club, and the police will come inspect your home at least once a year to check on how you're storing the gun. There are about 80,000 people with a gun license in the Netherlands.

Makes me glad to be living in Texas.

Liberty wrote:

Makes me glad to be living in Texas.

Even with all of the warts and blemishes, we still live in the greatest state in the greatest nation on planet earth!

I did not realize how long pot and bordellos had been legal in the Netherlands.

The aging population probably is a factor. Crime in the U.S. tracks the size of the 15- to 25-year-old population.

It would be interesting to look at poverty levels and educational attainment. In the U.S., criminals who commit violent offenses (other than domestic) tend to be poor and uneducated.

We know from long and extensive experience that "gun control" laws or the lack of them do not correlate with crime rates. The U.K. has a complete ban on private ownership of handguns, and it has a rising rate of violent crime. In Switzerland, nearly every home is armed, and their crime rate is among the lowest in Europe.

- Jim

Oldgringo wrote:

Liberty wrote:

Makes me glad to be living in Texas.

Even with all of the warts and blemishes, we still live in the greatest state in the greatest nation on planet earth!

AMEN!

-geo

The Annoyed Man wrote:

seamusTX wrote:I wonder if decriminalizing marijuana and prostitution has anything to do with it?

- Jim

. . . .I think the continuing decline in crime stats is possibly due to other factors like the Netherland's rapidly declining birth rate. The elderly tend not to commit crimes.. . .

seamusTX wrote:. . . .The aging population probably is a factor. Crime in the U.S. tracks the size of the 15- to 25-year-old population.. . .

This is what I'm saying. . . .

I hate to break it to you, but the low amount of crime is directly attributable to socialism and state run programs in the Netherlands.

Basically, "sharing the wealth" works well at preventing crime, as long as the population doesn't mind their hard earned money going to support people who don't do a lick of work.

Many of the residents (including some relatives of mine) are pretty happy with the system. I'm glad there's countries they can go to to live that way if they want.

Basically, bribery can work I guess. Disgusting, but true.

nitrogen wrote:I hate to break it to you, but the low amount of crime is directly attributable to socialism and state run programs in the Netherlands.

Basically, "sharing the wealth" works well at preventing crime, as long as the population doesn't mind their hard earned money going to support people who don't do a lick of work.

Many of the residents (including some relatives of mine) are pretty happy with the system. I'm glad there's countries they can go to to live that way if they want.

Basically, bribery can work I guess. Disgusting, but true.

But they have been pretty socialist for a long time. Don't know if they governments changed much, but Ive noticed more conservative writings from them in last 25 years or so ..