<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=windows-1252"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div>forward from Tammy Davis</div><blockquote type="cite"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>From: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">"Tammy Davis" <<a href="mailto:tammy@mcn.org">tammy@mcn.org</a>><br></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1.0);"><b>Subject: </b></span><span style="font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;"><b>Declining Crime Rates in the Neth</b></span></div>
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<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri; "><p class="post-meta"><font face="Times New Roman"><span class="post-date">September
14, 2013 <span class="sep">|</span> </span><span class="post-author"><a title="Posts by jcjusticecenter" href="http://jcjusticecenter.com/author/jcjusticecenter/" rel="author">jcjusticecenter</a> <span class="sep">|</span></span></font></p></div></div></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Calibri; "><p class="post-meta"><font face="Times New Roman" style="font-size: 12pt; ">In 2009, the Dutch justice ministry announced
the planned closing of eight prisons in the Netherlands due to a declining crime
rate which was expected to continue. </font><font face="Times New Roman" style="font-size: 12pt; ">Now, in
2013, there are 19 prisons scheduled to be closed. This is caused, in part, by a
continued decline in crime rates. Additionally, those who are convicted are
choosing electronic tagging instead of incarceration. This allows people to go
back to work and continue as productive members of society. It also saves about
$50,000 per year per person (about $50 million saved per year for every 1000
people).</font></p><div class="entry"><p><font face="Times New Roman">Counties and countries with low incarceration
rates typically take a different approach to criminal justice and their
investment in social services. </font><font face="Times New Roman">In the
Netherlands, for example, the focus is on “deterring and mitigating crime” as
well as “sanctioning those who violate laws with … rehabilitation efforts.”
(</font><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_the_Netherlands" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">Source</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">) </font><font face="Times New Roman">This is similar to
the approach taken in Johnson County with </font><a href="http://jcjusticecenter.com/resources/jail-alternatives/" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">jail alternatives</font></a><font face="Times New Roman"> and </font><a href="http://jcjusticecenter.com/resources/community-partners/" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">investing in local social
services</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">. The county recently </font><a href="http://jcjusticecenter.com/resources/community-partners/" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">invested approximately $2.3
million</font></a><font face="Times New Roman"> into a portfolio of local
organizations that have demonstrated a history of success with improving the
quality of life in Johnson County.</font></p><p><font face="Times New Roman">While progressive drug laws in the Netherlands
may be partially the reason for a decline in arrests, other social factors are
also at work. This points to crime reduction through changing social behavior as
a key to reducing incarceration — rather than just changing the laws or telling
police to stop arresting people as a method for artificially creating the
perception that there’s less crime.</font></p>
<h1><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Further Reading &
Resources</font></h1>
<ul>
<li><font face="Times New Roman">American Enterprise Institute, “</font><a href="http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/06/netherlands-is-closing-19-prisons-due-to-a-serious-prisoner-shortage-we-could-the-same-if-we-ended-the-war-on-drugs/" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">Netherlands is closing 19 prisons
due to a serious prisoner shortage; we could do the same if we ended the War
on Drugs</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">,” 14 September 2013</font>
</li><li><font face="Times New Roman">Huffington Post, “</font><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/26/netherlands-prisons-close--lack-of-criminals-_n_3503721.html" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">Netherlands Close Eight Prisons Due
To Lack Of Criminals</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">,” 13 September
2013 Note: The Huffington Post story is not currently accurate because it’s
based on 2009 information. See the MSN story below for the current
information.</font>
</li><li><a href="http://www.johnson-county.com/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2297" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">Johnson County Sheriff’s Annual
Report</font></a>
</li><li><font face="Times New Roman">MSN News, “</font><a href="http://now.msn.com/netherlands-closing-prisons-due-to-lack-of-prisoners" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">The Netherlands is closing prisons
due to a serious prisoner shortage</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">,”
24 June 2013</font>
</li><li><font face="Times New Roman"><a href="http://NRC.nl">NRC.nl</a>, “</font><a href="http://vorige.nrc.nl/international/article2246821.ece/Netherlands_to_close_prisons_for_lack_of_criminals" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">Netherlands to close prisons for
lack of criminals</font></a><font face="Times New Roman">,” 19 May 2009</font>
</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_justice_system_of_the_Netherlands" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">Wikipedia – Criminal Justice System
of the Netherlands</font></a>
</li><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate" target="_blank"><font face="Times New Roman">Wikipedia – List of Countries by
Incarceration Rate</font></a></li></ul></div>
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