Investigation
The police are responsible for the practical side of criminal
investigation. They collect evidence, interview witnesses and
victims, and arrest suspects. And they are required to keep a
complete record of the case in the form of an official report.
However, the Public Prosecution Service has ultimate
responsibility for the investigation. The police have to render
account for their actions to a public prosecutor, the officer of
the Public Prosecution Service. Every investigation is carried
out under the instructions of a public prosecutor, who ensures
that the police observe all the rules and procedures laid down by
law. This is of particular importance in the case of a serious
offence, where the public prosecutor will be in direct charge.
The Public Prosecution Service is also responsible for
supervising investigations carried out by other authorities, such
as the municipal social services, the Fiscal Intelligence and
Investigation Service (FIOD), and the Economic Investigation
Service (ECD).
If necessary, the public prosecutor may authorise the police to
apply certain coercive measures. For example, they may be
instructed to confiscate stolen goods or arrest a suspect even if
he was not caught red-handed.
The Public Prosecution Service does not have unlimited powers,
and certain measures may only be taken with permission from the
courts. Two examples are house-searches and telephone-tapping.
Prosecution
Prosecution begins as soon as the courts become involved in a
case, even if no-one has actually appeared in court. For
instance, the courts may be asked to issue a warrant for remand
in custody if someone is suspected of having committed a serious
offence. The person in question can then be detained for a
limited period of time. This is known as pre-trial detention.
Competence to drop
charges
The public prosecutor may have reason to decide not to prosecute
a case and may therefore drop the charges against the suspect.
This could be the case, for instance, if the police have not
managed to collect sufficient evidence. In other words, this
would be a technical reason for dropping any charges.
But charges can be dropped for other reasons as well, in some
cases as a matter of policy. Even if the police do have
sufficient evidence, the public prosecutor can drop the charge if
the offence was a minor one, for instance, and if the offender
has made good the damage done to the victim.
Anyone who is directly involved in a case may object to the
charge being dropped. If the Court of Appeal sees grounds for
doing so, it can order the Public Prosecution Service to have the
case heard in court.
Settlement out of
court
The public prosecutor may, at his own discretion, decide to
impose a fine instead of taking the case to court. This often
happens in the case of relatively minor offences such as
shoplifting or minor damage to property. The revenue goes to the
State.
Fines in lieu of prosecution are a quick way of dealing with
petty offences and they have become an increasingly common form
of sanction. The Public Prosecution Service usually sets the
amount as soon as the suspect has been arrested. This means that
he can pay on the spot or transfer the money soon afterwards, so
that the case can be closed. The public prosecutor can also
impose community service or a training program instead of a
fine.
If the suspect fails to pay the fine (or fails the community
service or training program), the case is taken to court. The
advantage of this system is that the suspect does not have to
wait for the courts to impose a sanction. It also reduces the
courts' workload and the backlog of cases waiting to be heard.
Summons
If the Public Prosecution Service does not drop charges or settle
out of court, the suspect has to appear in court. He is sent a
letter containing the indictment and stating when the case is to
be heard. The indictment is a detailed description of the offence
or offences with which he is charged, and he can only be tried on
those counts. Relatively minor offences are heard in a court
presided over by a single judge. More serious cases are heard by
three judges.
The courts
The public prosecutor appears in court in black robes. After he
has explained in full the charges that have been filed, the court
questions the defendant. The public prosecutor is also given an
opportunity to question the defendant. He then gives his opinion
of the case and requests the court to impose what he considers an
appropriate sanction.
The public prosecutor always rises to his feet when addressing
the court. The judge, who sits directly opposite the defendant,
remains seated.
Sanctions
Under Dutch criminal law, an offender can be punished by
imprisonment, a fine or an alternative sentence. Alternative
sentences can either take the form of community service, which
means working for a certain number of hours, without
remuneration, for the municipality, a hospital, the Forestry
Department or some other public institution. Or they can be
designed to rehabilitate the offender. For instance, young
offenders are often required to participate in programmes to
correct delinquent behaviour.
Orders
Besides the penalties described above, the public prosecutor may
ask the court to impose a court order. For instance, they can
order that certain objects, such as narcotics, weapons or pirate
versions of compact discs, be withdrawn from circulation. Or they
can impose a measure to deprive offenders of the proceeds of
crime. This is often done in cases of theft, fraud or drug
trafficking. The courts can also order an offender to pay
compensation to the party who has suffered as a result of the
crime.
A more complex measure is the hospital order. The public
prosecutor can ask the court to impose a hospital order if he
feels that the offender should be compelled to receive
psychiatric treatment. Offenders made subject to a hospital order
are committed to special clinics.
The Public Prosecution Service's main tasks are laid down by law. It is responsible for
The Public Prosecution Service is responsible for ensuring
that all penalties or orders imposed by the courts are
enforced.
Minors
People between the ages of 12 and 18 are subject to different
rules. Petty offences such as shoplifting or damage to property
do not generally go to court, but are dealt with by the police.
Depending on the circumstances, young offenders may be required
to work for a certain number of hours and pay for whatever damage
they have caused.
More serious offences are reported to the public prosecutor, who
can impose a fine or a community service order. He can also put
the case before a children's judge. In extreme circumstances,
minors may be sent to a youth custodial institution.
Plural offenders
Plural offenders are responsible for almost 40% of all criminal cases. It concerns primarily relatively minor criminality, which leads to a short imprisonment. This group brings social unrest because of the frequency, obstinacy and intensity of the plural offenders' criminal behaviour. Inconveniences caused by the offenders make civilians feel unsafe. There are about 18.000 till 19.000 adult plural offenders and about 1.000 minor plural offenders.
Since October 1st of 2004 there is new legislation on the group very active plural offenders. The goal is to take them out of circulation for a long time. The measure encompasses of to put the very active plural offenders in a special institution. This measure offers the judge the possibility to deprive the very active plural offender from his freedom for a maximum of 2 years. During this period it is actually impossible for the plural offender to commit any crime. Moreover, it will be estimated which factors play a roll in the criminal behaviour and how receptive the plural offender is for making a change.