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Summary

Groenhuijsen, Marc (1997). "The development of victimology and its impact on criminal justice policy in the Netherlands." In Support for crime victims in a comparative perspective, ed. Ezzat Fattah and Tony Peters, 37-54. A collection of essays dedicated to the memory of Prof. Frederic McClintock. With a preface by Ezzat Fattah and Tony Peters. Leuven, Belgium: Leuven University Press.

Groenhuijsen’s essay addresses two basic points concerning the situation in the Netherlands: key victimological findings that have been taken into account in the recent restructuring of the Dutch criminal justice system; and certain elements of that criminal justice system that remain at odds with the current stat of victimology. As background to his examination, he points out that the period of the late 1980s through the 1990s involved significant reform of the Dutch criminal justice system, with many changes made in legislation and practices to meet the interests of crime victims better. Key findings about victimization that shaped these changes include the following: loss of confidence in society; secondary victimization through the criminal justice process; and the effects of reparation and compensation. At the same time, Groenhuijsen points out certain ways – such as legal advice for victims about their cases, and informing a victim about the status of his or her offender when released from incarceration – in which victimological findings have not been fully incorporated into the Dutch criminal justice system.

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