?‘0E.E€E NVEWLE PROGRAMS {N THE NETHERLANDS Thesis £00 {£10 Dogma a? M. 3. HECBEGAN SUSIE URWEESETY Louise ter Haar 1966 ill-.3511!!! L: [J 4< .55. 3‘. :1: Michigan .3 .thc University 4.. i POLICE JUVENILE PROGRAMS IN THE NETHERLANDS BY Louise ter Haar AN ABSTRACT Submitted to the College of Social Science Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Police Administration and Public Safety 1966 /”> 1 L [Kl/ - .1 ‘ j C- l: 4 APPROWD " _j LWAZ‘LJK’ v [to V ”V ”Chaifman L’ / é? / IL/Winr_ be jjn jjfifi414%ifajr)<14xx__ Member ABSTRACT POLICE JUVENILE PROGRAMS IN THE NETHERLANDS By Louise ter Haar Though the Police Juvenile Programs in the Nether- lands has existed longer than 45 years, literature about this so important work is not to be found. The only book written about this work is the book of Dr. T.E.W. Lignac. a Doctor's thesis, which was printed in 1951 and which can only be used as historical information. It is for this reason thatit seemed necessary to do some research in the Netherlands to investigate how the juvenile programs were organized and what their functions were. Research on this subject has never been done and the only literature about the present situation can be found in articles in the various professional magazines. The research for this thesis was done by sending out a questionnaire to 72 city police forces in the Nether— lands in which 39 questions were put about the organization and the functions of their juvenile programs. Besides this questionnaire, several policewomen in charge of juvenile programs were interviewed, while for the more philosophical and theoretical part mostly American literature was used. Louise ter Haar From the 62 answers to the sent-out questionnaire a few points stick out which are worth mentioning. First, all statistics are, generally speaking, not considered of much importance with the result that the figures of the various programs differ tremendously. Secondly, there is hardly any uniformity in the forms the juvenile programs use. Even the larger cities use different forms though there is some uniformity in the forms used for the data that go with the proces—verbaal to the prosecutor. Only half of the forces answered the question about suggestions for the police work with juveniles for the future. This is a disappointing result and shows a dangerous lack of interest in this work and its development. Another point for careful consideration is the lack of any training program for the personnel assigned to the juvenile units, neither on a pre-service nor on an in— service basis. And last, the training of the policewomen is another subject that needs more care and consideration. Though there have been several studies on this subject, a result so far has not been given, at least not a satisfying one. POLICE JUVENILE PROGRAMS IN THE NETHERLANDS BY Louise ter Haar A THESIS Submitted to the College of Social Science Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE School of Police Administration and Public Safety 1966 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A word of remembrance will be appropriate for Dr. James J. Brennan, without whose assistance I would never have been able to start this study, let alone bring it to an end. His death in September 1965, though a great shock in many ways, has reminded me once more how much he would have liked me to finish this research—project. It is with his memory constantly before me that I have finished this thesis and I would like to dedicate this study to him, who was a great man in many respects, who loved youth and who dedicated his own life to his fellowmen. I wish to express my sincere thanks to Mr. Raymond T. Galvin, who has taken over the chairmanship of my committee in September 1965 and who has given me many helpful suggestions. A special word of appreciation is extended to the Chief Commissioner of the City Police Force of the Hague. Mr. J.H.A.K. Gualtherie van Weezel, who sent a letter of introduction with the questionnaire and who suggested to the Mayor of the Hague to grant me a year leave of absence to study in the United States. A My thanks go to Miss Mildred Lasky who carefully edited rough and preliminary drafts for English construction and to Professor Dr. Clyde E. Henson who polished the last ii draft for the same reason. Sincere thanks go to the commissioners, chief- inspectors and other colleagues of the City Police Force of the Hague who were patient enough to listen to my problems and give me advice and suggestions. A very special word of thanks goes to Miss M.S. van Deth, former chief—inspector of police and for nearly seven years my commanding officer of the juvenile bureau in the Hague from whom I learned the work and who has given me suggestions and advice about the contents of this thesis. My thanks are also expressed to my parents, relatives and friends who have showed their interest in this study during the long hours I struggled with it and who have often helped me with suggestions. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION Definitions Used II. PRESENT POLICE ORGANIZATION IN THE NETHERLANDS III. THE JUVENILE PROGRAM OF THE HAGUE —— A CASE STUDY History Organization and Administration The place of the juvenile program in the department The juvenile police officer Selection Men Women Training Men Women Functions The goal of the police juvenile program The control of delinquency and crime Crimes committed by juveniles Crimes committed by adults PAGE 13 23 23 31 31 35 37 39 42 47 51 52 57 58 59 6O 61 The prevention of juvenile delinquency 62 iv CHAPTER PAGE IV. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE POLICE JUVENILE PROGRAMS IN THE NETHERLANDS 72 V. THE FUNCTIONS OF THE POLICE JUVENILE PROGRAMS IN THE NETHERLANDS 89 VI. SUMMARY 139 Conclusion 139 Future Needs 145 BIBLIOGRAPHY 150 APPENDIX 154 LIST OF CHARTS CHART PAGE I. Police Organization in the Netherlands 13 II. Organization of the Municipal Police Department of the Hague 34 III. Organization of the Police Juvenile Bureau of the Hague 56 vi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION The purpose of this thesis is to bring together information about the Police Juvenile Programs of the City Police Forces in the Netherlands as there is none available. The only book written about Police Juvenile Programs in the Netherlands is the book of Dr. T.E.W. Lignac, called "De Kinderpolitie in Nederland en daarbuiten" (i.e. the Police Juvenile Programs in and outside the Netherlands) a Doctor's thesis. This book is used for historical data but as it was written in 1951 it was impossible to use the information of Dr. Lignac for the present organization and functions of the Police Juvenile Programs. Besides this book only a few articles written in professional magazines could be used. Research on the subject of organization of Police Juvenile Programs or the functions of these units never took place officially. Though the State Police in the Netherlands has special police officers (women) appointed for the so- called Juvenile Cases, this thesis has been restricted to the City Police Forces, for in the State Police Force one cannot speak of a special Police Juvenile Program, as there are still only a few women appointed for this work and they cover quite an area in terms of mileage. They do not deal with all juvenile cases as this is simply impossible, and they are only called in when there is serious trouble. Recidivism is not being dealt with as no unit keeps figures on this subject. To get the information about the present organi- zation and functions of the different Police Juvenile Programs a questionnaire was sent out to 72 City Police Forces in the Netherlands with a covering letter of the Chief Commissioner of the City Police Force of the Hague and an explanation (see Appendix II). To follow-up the questionnaire some people in the police field and especially in the field of the Police Juvenile Programs were interviewed. Having been an inspector of the Police Juvenile Program of the Hague for 10 years, I have been able to study the problem of Juvenile Delinquency. The program of the Hague is being dealt with extensively in Chapter III as it gives a good general impression of the work of the Police Juvenile Programs in the Netherlands. But there are of course differences, for example, in terms of the number of assigned personnel and also sometimes in terms of functions. DEFINITIONS USED Crime. In the Dutch Criminal Code there are only two groups of penal offenses: crimes and offenses. The discrimination into these two groups appears in the Dutch Criminal Code since its coming into effect in 1836. Before that year the French Code Penal was used in Holland and this code had (and still does have) the dis— tinction into three groups: crimes, delits, and contraventions.l In France this distinction was connect— ed with the following points: (a) Which court had the jurisdiction over the case and (b) The sort and seriousness of the punishment.2 Crimes are the combination of felonies and mis— demeanors as mentioned in the different codes of the United States. The most serious penal offenses - i.e., "les Crimes" — were brought before a court with a jury, because it was felt that the "vox populi" — the voice of the people - was the most able to give a fair decision. 1H. B. Vos. Leerboek van Nederlands Strafrecht, Third Edition, H.D. Tjeenk Willink en Zoon N.V. Haarlem, 1950, p. 38. 21bid., p. 39. As the Dutch Criminal Code does not use the jury system, it was no longer necessary to make distinction into these three groups and it is for this reason that the distinction into two groups was made.3 What is the principle behind this distinction? In the explanations and discussions before the coming into effect of the Criminal Code it is said that by crimes is meant those penal offenses where injustice requires punishment, even if the law hypothetically would not have an article to give authority to act. In other words, crimes are these acts where an injustice is felt, where someone is hurt. Offenses, however, are these acts where not a real injustice is felt, but where the law makes that particular act an injustice. It is for this reason that crimes and offenses are 4 sometimes called "Justice—offenses" and "Law-offenses." Criminal Court. There are 18 Criminal Courts in the Netherlands. The Police Juvenile Bureaus work in close contact with them as the Juvenile Judge is a member of the Criminal Court and the Children's Protection 3Mrs. D. Hazewinkel-Suringa, Inleiding tot de studie van het Nederlandse Strafrecht, Second EditiSH, H.D. Tjeenk Willink en Zoon N.V., Haarlem, 1956, p. 31. 4Ibid., p. 32. Board is also connected with the Criminal Court. The Criminal Court deals with crimes committed by people over eighteen years of age and between the age of eighteen and twenty-one the Juvenile Judge is very often one of the judges of the chamber. The Criminal Court has three judges to sit over the cases. Juveniles. The Police Juvenile Bureau deals with juveniles under eighteen as far as crimes are concerned and in all other cases with juveniles up to twenty—one, if they are still minors and not married as in the Netherlands marriage makes a minor automatically an adult. Juvenile Delinquents. In the Netherlands there is no special juvenile code. In the different law—books, however, articles are to be found that apply to dealings with juveniles. The word "Juvenile Delinquent" is not to be found in these articles. The law speaks only of minors or minor suspects. The Dutch Criminal Code con- siders a minor on his eighteenth birthday an adult and if he commits a crime after that date he is brought for the Criminal Court instead of for the Juvenile Judge. If used, the word Juvenile Delinquent pertains to minors who have been in contact with the Police Juvenile Bureau and the Juvenile Judge. The Juvenile Judge. The Juvenile Judge is a member of the Criminal Court and, therefore, the Juvenile Court is not an independent court though it acts as such. The Juvenile Judge, just as the Police Juvenile Bureau, deals with two age groups of minors: under eighteen in criminal cases and under twenty—one in civil cases. The Juvenile Judge never deals with these cases on the same court—session. He will have one or two after— noons a week when the criminal session takes place and the civil sessions will be held on another day. In the civil session the public prosecutor is hardly ever present. These are the cases like ill—behavior, ill- treatment, and neglect, and, on request, a representative of the Children's Protection Board will be present to give the Judge an explanation of the report he has received beforehand from the Board in which recommendations about the case are given. In the criminal session the prosecutor is always present, and he is in charge of the prosecution. His presence there is required by the law. He represents the case for the Crown and at the end of the session, requests a certain punishment. Until October 1961 there was no minimum age limit in the Netherlands in terms of criminal responsibility. In that month a change of statute was accepted in both chambers of the State General which pointed out as a minimum age limit for criminal responsibility the age of twelve. The change of statute cameainto effect on July 1, 1965. The jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court is described in the Law—book of Criminal Procedure. Though the Juvenile Judge deals with all criminal cases of minors under eighteen, there are a few exceptions. Article 487 of the above mentioned law—book mentions the fact that cases, which are of a complicated nature shall be dealt with by the ordinary criminal court with the three judges, one of whom will be the Juvenile Judge.5 The decision for this will be made by the Juvenile Judge and the public prosecutor. The jurisdiction of the Juvenile Court in terms of places is determined by the judicial area in which the child lives. This is the equal for criminal and civil cases. The Dutch criminal law does not make any discrimination between criminal proceedings or absence of criminal proceedings. When a minor commits a deed that is a crime according to the criminal law, then his behavior is criminal behavior, and the proceedings for the court are certainly criminal proceedings. 5Wetboek van Strafvordering, Artikel 487. There is, however, no special reference in the law (in contrast, for example, with the laws in the United States). The dispositions of the Juvenile Court in the Netherlands are divided into what are called straffen (penalties) and maatregelen (measures). The penalties are: placement in a reformatory (commitment), fines (with a maximum of 150.-Dutch guilders), and a reprimand by the Juvenile Judge, which will take place on the court session. The measures are: the appointment of a tutor over the child. The parents do not lose their parental rights in these cases and the tutor is a private person who is selected for this work by Special agencies. Other measures are: the placing of a minor at the disposal of the Ministry of Justice, or the release of the minor to the parents without any punishment. A new penalty that is mentioned in the change of statute is arrest (detention) from 4 hours to 14 days. In civil cases the appointment of a tutor is the most common one. In these cases the parents have very often asked help for their (difficult) children at the Police Juvenile Bureau or the Children's Protection Board. Children's Protection Board. According to the Children's Act of 1901, Children's Protection Boards are created in each jurisdiction of the Criminal Courts (18). These Boards consist of honorary members appointed by the Crown and representing different groups of the population. Each Board has a paid secretary and a more or less extensive staff. The Board investigates complaints about the care of minors, files petitions to the Criminal Court for legal action in cases of child neglect. The Board advises the Juvenile Judge as to the assignment of tutors. It supervises children, who, pending a legal proceeding are committed to the Board by the legal authorities, and it has the control of the care of children withdrawn from their parents and placed elsewhere. The Board has no executive power, except in divorce-cases and cases of children pending trial. As a conclusion the Board has the following duties: a. Advice in criminal cases. The Board has to make background investigation and give advice in all criminal cases where minors under 18 have committed a crime. b. Advice in civil cases. Those are mostly divorce-cases and cases of child—neglect by the parents. 10 The Board gives advice after having made investigations about home— and background-conditions, on the best measure in terms of tutorship, guardianship, or depri- vation of parental authority. c. Supervision of children in foster—homes and foster-families. d. Legal Adoption. The Board must examine all applications for adoption and will advise the Court on the adoption of a particular child. Proces-Verbaal. The process-verbaal is a written report made up on oath about the facts pertaining to a crime. In the proces-verbaal the police officer will write down the statements of the witnesses, the suspect, and all his own observations about the case. He has, however, to restrict himself to the facts as it is the duty of the prosecutor and the judge to draw conclusions from these observations. The Police officer has to try to prove his case in this proces-verbaal, and this written report is used as the evidence in court. A Dutch Police officer is therefore very seldom subpoenaed for a court session. This will only happen if the case is not quite clear or when the suspect will give a different statement before the prosecutor than he has given to the officer. 11 Banks, The ranks in the City Police Forces of the Netherlands are the following: Chief Commissioner (2nd and lst official) Commissioner (2nd and lst official) Chief Inspector (2nd and lst class) InSpector (3rd and 2nd class) Assistant Inspector (Surnumerair) The above mentioned are the so-called "high" ranks. Adjutant Brigadier (sergeant) Hoofdagent (all detectives will have this particular rank) Agent (patrolman) Adspirant ("rooky") These are the so-called "lower" ranks. Besides the women in the higher ranks, mentioned in this thesis as (female) assistant inspector, inspector and chief inspector, the policewomen dealt with in this thesis have the ranks of hoofdagent or agent or are also indicated as (female) adjutant or sergeant. Detention. In the Netherlands police officers with the rank of inspector (2nd class) and higher are auto- matically assistant-prosecutor. In this capacity they have the authority to detain persons who have committed crimes with a penalty of at least 4 years imprisonment 12 or some other crimes which are especially defined by law. Detention is a very dangerous and reSponsible authority and it is understandable that it is only used if it is absolutely necessary and the investigation requires it. It is for this reason that many police officers hesitate before detaining juveniles and especially girls, and this detention will only take place if another solution is absolutely impossible. The detention by the assistant-prosecutor can last two-times twenty- four hours. This detention can be renewed by the prosecutor for another two—times twenty-four hom:s after which the suspect has to be brought before the prosecutor or to be released. The assistant-prosecutor keeps in touch with the prosecutor about each detention and the prosecutor decides if he wants the suspect brought before him or not. The detention implies that in cases where a suSpect is brought before the prosecutor the police officer has at the utmost 4 days in which to finish his investigation and write his proces-verbaal. 13 CHAPTER II PRESENT POLICE ORGANIZATION IN THE NETHERLANDS To understand the organization of the Police Juvenile Program in the Netherlands it is necessary to give a short survey of the entire Police Organization of the country. The present Dutch Police Organization can be found in the Politie wet (i.e. the Police-Act) of July 4, 1957, which came into effect January 1, 1958. In the Netherlands there is a big difference between the commanding ranks and the so-called "lower" ranks. It is practically impossible to come from the "lower" ranks into the commanding ranks by way of promotion. There are a few exceptions: for example an officer has excelled in his work, left the "lower" ranks and has been reappointed as a commanding officer. The "lower" ranks run from adsgirant, (i.e. recruit) to adjudant (i.e. adjutant) and the commanding ranks from assistant-inspector to chief— commissioner. According to the above mentioned police—act, the police force in the Netherlands consists of the City Police (Gemeentepolitie) and the State Police (Rijkspolitie). Population figures of individual municipalities offer the basis upon which the authorization of City or State Police control is decided. Article 2 of the Police Act l4 .oamoom coHHHHs v sanmmc mo Hmuou m spas moflufiammfloflcse oom mammoc ca mcflumnomo momom MUHAOm maflfim .cofluomumplofifiuo may «0 wmnmso ca mH Amuusmw Hmcflsfiuo mac mOBbommomm qumDm cofipomumplmfifluo mcflcumosoo mm>HuomHap mm>aw Aamwmm< mo mvusoo my A¢mmzmw Nmzmoeefi .muflmuso msfl Icemamu 6cm mcofluosuumcfl .ucwEuHDHUoH .mcommwz .mEuOmacs .moflaom wuflu paw ooflaom oumum cmm3umn cofiumnomooo may mcflcuoocoo mcoflumasmou mm>flw moHeme mo mmamHsz .oamoom COHHHHE m mamumfiflxonmmm Hmnfisa Hmpos .Amucmuflnmncfl ooo.mm cmnu mHOEV mmfluflammfloficsfi Hmmuma may :H mmomOh mUHQOm NBHU NNH .cowuoopmp oEHHo mo muouumE ca moflaom muflo mocmEEou .Hmpuo UHHQSQ mcflsflmucfimfi :H moflaom mumum mocmEEOU .Hopno UHHQSQ mcamuCHmS Ammflufiammfioflcse oooa mamDmEonnmmmv mowaz .Hmpno UHHQDQ mo mocmnoucflma on» momH>Hmmsm Ammocfi>oum HHV mozmm>ow quUZH>OMm .Hmpno UHHQSQ mo mocwcwDCHmE may mcflcnmocoo mnocuo>ow amaocfi>oum may on mo>apowuflp m>Hm coo .moouom moaaom muao map mo ucoESmHHQmumm may no mopflomm monmBzH Mme mo mmamHsz Amoflumsb mo HmumHCHE mnu paw uoanmucH may mo Hmpmflcflz msu QDOQ mo muHHHQHmCOQmoH Hops: mCH£u>Ho>mv .moHHom mo mpcflx nuon mo mucmEsHOEm Honuo bum humamm .mCOHuHCCOUIHOQma .msumum Hmmma wsu mcflcuoocoo wQOHumHmeH mo>flw .monom moflaom oumum on» mo mnmoflmmo mcauomHHQ new moonom ooflaom hpflu may mo muoCOHmmflEEou mucflommfi cmmso one .z.m H EMde 146 makes a distinction between: a. Municipalities with more than 25.000 inhabitants, b. Municipalities with less than 10.000 inhabitants, c. Municipalities with 10.000 to 25.000 inhabitants. Generally speaking, municipalities with more than 25.000 inhabitants will have City Police and those with under 25.000 inhabitants will employ State Police. The municipalities with 10.000 to 25.000 inhabitants have retained the police force they had before the adoption of the Police Act. The State Police. The State Police in terms of territory (actual mileage), can be compared with the State Police in the United States; but in terms of jurisdiction, it is more like the Federal Police. For example, the Dutch State Police has bureaus similar to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. The State Police consists of one force that covers the whole country. This force is placed directly under the Ministry of Justice. He relies for the practical execution of his duties upon the Inspector-General who, in turn, is in charge of the State Police Force. The State Police Force has about 6.000 men and performs its duties in approximately 900 municipalities with a population of nearly 4 million people. The commanding officers of the force are appointed 15 by the Queen (see Chart I), the remaining personnel by the Minister of Justice. On behalf of the internal organization of the State Police, the country has been divided into inspections, each inspection into districts, each district into groups and each group into police- stations. Besides authority in the smaller municipalities as previously mentioned, the State Police has the control and supervision of the governmental highways, the many rivers and canals, and the harbours and ports (exception is the harbour of Rotterdam where the City Police of Rotterdam is in charge). The Citnyolice. The City Police consists of 127 local police forces. The number of personnel in the local force determines the rank of the officer in charge. These ranks range from Chief Commissioner, Commissioner, Chief Inspector to Inspector. The Chief Commissioner and the Commissioners are appointed by the Queen. The remaining personnel are appointed by the Mayor under supervision of the Ministers of the Interior and of Justice. The Mayors of the municipalities have the over-all control and are in charge of the administration and the organization of the City Police Forces. The Minister of the Interior defines the number of 16 functionaries in the forces and the rank division. He must consult with the Minister of Justice about the number of personnel and the rank division of the functionaires in the detective divisions, and the divisions in charge of registration of foreigners. The reason for this is that the Minister of Justice is in charge of general crime-detection and the enforcement of laws for foreigners. The Attorney-Generals of the 5 Courts of Appeal have a voice in these decisions too. The Netherlands has not always had these two types of police forces. When one looks back into Dutch history one sees that the country was divided into a number of autonomous provinces such as the States of the United States.1 Each of these provinces had its own police force, in addition to a kind of federal police force and a number of village constables. Due to the development of modern political techniques and because of the growth of technical facilities, such as traffic, telephone, radio and television, it is no longer necessary to have so many diverse authoritative forces. In the present Dutch regime the provinces have only a very restricted autonomy, and the provincial police systems as lP. Stapel en J.J A. de Koning, Leerboek voor g§_ Politie, 23d Edition Part 1, "De Politie", p. 102. l7 mentioned above are no longer existent. This does not mean, however, that the Dutch police system became more central- ized (as will be explained in the following pages).2 Authority, As mentioned before, there are two ministries of the Dutch Government that are concerned with the police: 1. The Ministry 9f Justice. The Minister of Justice has first over-all control and is in charge of the organiz- ation and the administration of the State Police. Second— ly -- and probably of even more importance -— the Minister of Justice is in charge of and responsible for crime— prevention, crime-detection and law—enforcement in the country. It is for this reason that he defines the juris— diction of the police officers not only of the State Police but also of the City Police. The officers of the City Police have authority only in the municipality where their force is stationed. The officers of the State Police, however, have a wider territory in terms of rivers, highways, and canals. Both kind of police have their own specified duties and there is no conflict between the two. 2During the Second World War one goal of the _ German Occupation was the centralization of the Dutch Police and establishment of a kind of State Police with military ranks. l8 2. The Ministry 9f_the Interior. The Minister of the Interior has a task of administration concerning the City Police forces, though he does not have over-all control and is not in charge of the administration and organization of these forces. The administration and organization of this control is the duty of the mayor of the municipality, who is often guided by the government in the Hague with its political influence. Instead of having a centralized system where one Minister is in charge of the entire police system in the Netherlands, there is still a definite decentralization. This system, in which one Minister is completely in charge of one kind of police (i.e. the State Police) and another Minister shares authority over the other division (i.e. 127 City Police Forces), not with his colleagues but with the mayors of the municipalities, may be a great disadvant- age. There are often both varying and conflicting Opinions about regulations that concern both the State Police and the City Police. An example of this is divergence in the matter of promotions, appointments and dismissals of police officers. Though there is, on the whole, a good understand- ing and cooperation between the two ministries on thrspoint, there is an undeniable rivalry between the State Police and the City Police. This may be caused by the fact that the 19 officers of both forces do not know enough about each other's job and authority. Comparison with other European Police Systems. The Home Secretary in England has also an important authority concerning the police. Though one can say that the British police system is one of decentralization, the Home Secretary has the following authority: he can make regulations concerning appointments, promotions, discipline, and duty-times. He can appoint Royal Inspectors who make investigations about the efficiency of a particular police force. He has the authority to withhold money from the State's revenue if he thinks that a force is not working efficiently. Beside these functions he has much informal authority, such as establishing police colleges, etc.3 Going back to the Dutch Minister of the Interior, one finds his relationship with the mayor a typical one of relegation to authority. However, the authority of the mayor concerning the City Police is a strange and illogical point in the Dutch police organization. Due to regulations in the "Gemeente—wet" (i.e. the Municipal Act) the mayor who may very often be considered an 3F. Prick, "Politie", Maandblad voor de Politie, Vol. 25, No. 7, July 1963, p. 208/209. 20 incompetent official for this particular duty, has complete control and is in charge of the administration and organiz- ation of the City Police. According to this Act he is the "Head of the Police" (i.e. the City Police) in his municipal- ity and is responsible for the maintenance of public order. The Netherlands has tried to establish one universal police force, and there were people who hoped for one (though did not expect it to happen) with the "Police-Act" of 1958. However, in the discussions of this Act the general opinion was that a completely centralized police system could not be placed in the Dutch regime. A centralized police system would not be in keeping with the national character and the historical development.5 It is remarkable, however, that in other democratic countries (for example, the Scandinavian countries) it has been possible to get an almost completely centralized police organization. In Sweden, for instance, there is only one kind of police that falls under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, though there is some decentralization in terms of authority by districts and 4S. Kloosterman, 2g Politiewet, N. Samson, N.V. Alphen aan de Rijn, 1957, p. 64. 5F. Prick, "Politie", Maandblad voor de Politie, Vol. 25, No. 1, January 1963, p. 4. 21 provinces, as is understandable in a big country like Sweden.6 This police is a State police force.7 The same is true in NOrway. There is one State police force under authority of the Ministry of Justice and Police (one ministry). As in Sweden, there is only decentralization in terms of authority by districts. There is, however, a central police laboratory, dacty— losopical department and file system for the whole country.8 In looking at the chart of the police organization in the Netherlands the above explanation will be clear— er. The regulations The Queen can give are all Orders of Council which have the authority of law. Though she is the Souvereign she is subject to the responsibility of her Ministers. Therefore in this case the Minister of Justice and the Minister of the Interior are the two eminent authorities concerned with the police organization in the country. The country is divided into 11 provinces whose governors are directly responsible to the Minister of the 6"The Swedish Police", Corpsblad van de Gemeente— politie te Heerlen, Vol. 13, No. 11, November 1962, p. l. 7 "Police in Sweden" Revue de la Sureté Nationale No. 31, June/July 1960, p. 3. 8"Police in NOrway", Revue de la Sureté Nationale No. 27, January 1960, p. 5. 22 Interior. Because these Governors have the supervision over the maintenance of public order, there is a direct contact with the Mayors of the municipalities who have to maintahi this public order. In regard to the maintenance of the public order the Mayors are empowered to command the State Police as well as the City Police. The Minister of Justice is directly in charge of the State Police and gives regulations concerning the cooperat- ion between State and City Police, instructions, recruit- ment, uniforms, weapons, and further equipment. As the Minister of Justice is responsible for all the Courts in the country, the Attorneys General of the Courts of Appeal and the Public Prosecutors fall directly under his authority. Crime-detection in the country is, therefore, a subject of concern for the Minister of Justice. Looking back at these facts, it is clear that the authorities of both the Ministers of Justice and of the Interior concerning the police in the Netherlands are very closely interwoven. F. Prick M.C.L., Chief Commissioner of the City Police in Nijmegen is of the opinion that the present Dutch police system, with its divided forces and locally tied police, does not answer the challenge of_the present mobile criminality.9 9F. Prick, p. 9. 23 CHAPTER III THE JUVENILE PROGRAM OF THE HAGUE ---- A CASE STUDY I. HISTORY The Juvenile Program of the Hague started NOvember l, 1921, as the third city in the Netherlands to start such a program. Before the establishment of this program, however, the first female police inspector in the Nether- lands was appointed in the Hague in 1913. Miss Geertruida van Elzelingen worked in the Vice Squad. Her duties in the beginning were mainly hearing the testimony of girls of 18 to 20 years of age, the victims or witnesses of sex-offenses, and of women, who were prostitutes or abortionist suspects in these offenses. As she noticed that these latter would talk more freely to her male colleagues, she concentrated on the work with the girls who, in her opinion, needed her advice and help. Because she did not have any agencies to help her she brought her own collection of books for teenagers to her office and opened a library where the above mentioned girls could borrow reading material.1 She felt that it was' necessary to establish a special bureau in the police force lDr. T.E.W. Lignac, ngKinderpolitie.in Nederland en daarbuiten, Uitgeverij "Excelsior", 's-Gravenhage, 1951, p. 26. 24 to work with delinquent and neglected youth. She propagated the establishment of such a bureau in and outside the police force of the Hague. The Municipal Council of the Hague was very interested in the problem of delinquency and neglect of children in the city; much attention was paid to the fact that foster- families and nurseries for children did not fall under any authority of the Government. Both areas presented conditions which were highly unfavorable and these complaints were not only felt in the Hague but elsewhere. All the big cities had the problem of unscrupulous people who took foster children only for the money they could gain. Many of these children were badly neglected and many of them died under suSpicious circumstances. The police were called in and the need was felt for super- vision of these foster families.2 As in many countries all over the world, women's organizations in the Netherlands, particularly in the Hague, were very interested in the above mentioned problem. Such an organization in the Hague (Vereniging Onderlinge Vrouwenbescherming) sent a message to the Municipal Council in 1915 to ask for a Specialized police bureau to take care of the supervision of these foster families with if possible policewomen to do this work. 21bidol p. 46. 25 In 1916, 76 general practitioners agreed with this message.3 This resulted in the appointment of two nurses as police inspectors in 1921, namely Eudia Pierson and Johanna C. van Schilfgaarde. The duties of these inspectors were by no means defined. Miss Pierson tells us: I know that when the Juvenile Bureau started in 1921, there were no given rules, no certain limits. She (the Juvenile Bureau) had to find her own way. Soon she discovered that there were several official bodies that dealt with the same case, which was certainly not desirable for an educative measure. (translation)4 The agencies Miss Pierson meant were: the Juvenile Court the Prosecutor's office, the Welfare Service, the Children's Protection Board, the many private agencies and homes, and other police units. She goes on: All these bodies worked without a central point: as this was practically impossible. We discovered soon that the Juvenile Bureau could be that central point. 5 (translation) And that is how the Police Juvenile Program in the Hague started. The two inspectors had to establish their own work, since nobody could give them a clear-cut description of what was expected of them. 3Ibid., p. 27. 4Inspector E. Pierson, "Kinderpolitie", a talk held at a congress of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Geestelijke Volksgezondheid, May 6-7, 1935. Report, p. 1. 5Ibid., p. 2 and 3. 26 Miss Pierson told a reporter in 1927: Not only was the Juvenile Bureau in the beginning confronted with a world of acute problems and situations. but it was a "jump into darkness" when we started. A room, two desks, a couple of chairs and virginal white paper was all we had. (translation)6 The inspectors first of all started a control of foster- families, where a horrible situation existed. This control lasted until 1953 when a new law passed this duty on to the Children's Protection Board. To get a personal impression of these first difficult years, Miss Johanna C. van Schilfgaarde was interviewed and it will be expedient to give her story in detail. She told the following: When the mayor of the Hague asked Miss Pierson if she would be willing to start a police juvenile program in the Hague, she answered that she would be willing to do so if she would have someone working beside her. She felt it would be better to start an entirely new sort of work with someone else to help. As Miss Pierson and I worked together before, she recommended me to the mayor. He asked me to join Miss Pierson in the new job. As it fascinated me to start an entirely new job I agreed and so we started on November 1, 1921. Our room was next to the room of the Chief Commissioner to whom we were directly responsible. We used the same waiting room, which was, of course, sometimes awkward as the persons who wanted to talk to the Chief Commissioner were mostly quite different from the ones we inter- viewedlllll On the same day on which we started our work with the Juvenile Bureau, established mainly to obtain some control over the foster families, where horrible situations existed, the new by-law that 6Interview with Inspector E. Pierson about the Juvenile Bureau "De Nederlander" of Monday, September 26, 1927. 27 regulated control over these families came into effect. We had put advertisements in the newspapers to tell the people about this new by—law and to warn the foster— parents that they must register at our office. The result was that in the first few weeks people stood in line in our waiting room and we did nothing but write down names and information about families. After these first weeks the stream of people became less and we found time to visit these foster families. Beside this work we received all the complaints about child-neglect, truancy and bad behavior. The Children's Protection Board asked us for reports about families which took much time. One of the biggest problems during these first years was the begging by small boys and girls who were mostly sent out by their parents with monkeys and guinea-pigs to beg for money. They came mostly from the caravans and were always truant from school. 7There are two groups of people in the Netherlands who like to live in caravans instead of houses. One group exists of gypsies, who are originally from Hungary, but who have now mostly the German nationality or have lost their nationality for a particular reason. This group Speaks a sort of dialect that consists of words from all different languages. It is a very closely-knitted group and the members will not easily mix with other people from outside their group. The second group is of Dutch nationality and consists of transients. The members of this group, as the other group, like to move with their caravans from one place in the country to another and they stay in one place a few months before moving on to the other. Though the members of this group will not easily mix with the gypsies or people outside these two groups, this group is not as closely- knitted as the other, where the oldest woman of the group is still the Gypsy Queen. In the Hague are two caravan camps where there are special campschools where the children can attend school 28 After a few months we were assisted by a detective and I used to go to the caravan camp with him to talk to the parents of these little beggars. We did everything on our bicycles and if we had to arrest children we used a horse—cart in these days. There were two of these horse-carts: one for the sus— pects and one for the seized goods. Our reception in the police force was, on the whole, good. The Chief Commissioner had a keen interest in all we were doing and he had told uS that we had to ask everything we did not know. And that was quite a lot as none of us knew any- thing about police matters. We therefore studied law books in our spare time and took the books with processen—verbaal home with us to study. during the time they stay in the Hague. The men in the gypsy group will very often earn their living as musicians in bands etc. The men in the other group and the rest of the gypsies will sell postcards, pencils and this kind of stuff along the houses or go to farms to help. In the time when Miss Pierson and Miss van Schilf- gaarde started their work the families of these caravan- people were very poor and they had to beg for their living. For this reason the begging by small children was quite usual. This is (fortunately) something that has changed completely and these little beggars are hardly ever found any longer. The monkeys and guinea-pigs have disappeared completely from the picture of the caravan population. Since the social security for everybody has become so much better, these families are no longer as poor aS they used to be. The children are no longer truant or at least not in the way they used to be and the parents will like them to go to the camp school. 8See for an explanation of the processen— —Verbaal Chapter I; nowadays the books that Miss van Schilfgaarde is talking about are no longer used. 29 The other units in the force were apparently pleas- ed to get rid of complaints about Children, and from then on they sent the youngsters to us for investigat— ion. The agencies in the society like the Welfare Service, the Protection Board, and the private agencies, that existed were not too enthusiastic about the new Juvenile Bureau. They thought we were taking their cases away from them and found it completely unnecessary for us to exist. Their main complaint was that we kept a case too long instead of referring it straight away to one of them. But we felt that for an expert referral it was necessary to look into a case thoroughly. It was for this reason that we called up the child and the parents again or visited them at home. There was another important reason for this thorough investigation on our part: though the new law that established the Juvenile Court and the Juvenile Judge is from November 1921, it was November 1922 before this law came into effect and the first Juvenile Judge in the Hague Mr. H.O. Feith, was appointed. At the same moment the tutorship under the Juvenile Court came into effect. Therefore during the first year of existence of the Juvenile Bureau we had to consider our cases very carefully as referral for this official tutor- ship was not yet possible. It took quite a time until Mr. Feith, who, like us, had to find his way through this difficult material, used the tutorship more often. I remember very clearly that Miss Pierson and I used to visit Mr. Feith and his wife, who acted as his secretary, one evening a week. We took our card system —- which was, of course, still quite small and files did not exist yet —- and we exchanged experiences. I remember that Mr. Feith kept his card system in a wooden cigar—box. AS we very often dealt with the same children it was important to exchange these experiences to prevent working on the same cases without knowing it. 30 We did not have the same good cooperation with the Public Prosecutor for juvenile cases during that first period. He did not think it necessary at all for a Juvenile Bureau to be established. If we called him about a very serious child neglect case, for which we thought it extremely necessary that he should take action, i.e. that he should deprive the parents of their parental rights, he was downright rude and told us to mind our own business and to leave these cases to the Children's Protection Board, which was in his opinion, much better equipped for this kind of work than two nursesililli But we made it and the latter prgsecutors gave us better appreciation and cooperation. Though it was, as Miss Pierson said, "a jump into darkness" for both of them when they started their work, they soon found their own special place in the police force. Already in 1925 Miss Pierson could write a report in which she pointed out the many duties the Juvenile Bureau had. Besides control of foster families (which She mentioned as last item 1!!!) She points out again that the Juvenile Bureau is a central point -- a star whose points go to all the agencies in the society like Welfare Services, Children's Protection Board, and governmental and private agencies for child protection work. She calls the Juvenile Bureau a first-aid agency for moral accidents. Through these contacts the Juvenile Bureau takes care of all cases of truancy run-aways, ill-treatment by parents or guardians and 9Interview with Miss Johanna C. van Schilfgaarde on November 21, 1963. 31 complaints of all kinds.10 The Police Juvenile Program of the Hague was like all other programs in the Netherlands basically a social agency. One that fulfilled a need in the society. Crimes committed by minors under eighteen were not dealt with since this was the duty of the detective division. As will be mentioned later, this Situation changed due to the fact that many social agencies were created in the society: this made it less necessary for the Police Juvenile Program to keep on with this type of work. From the social agency the program changed into a real police unit like all the others. II. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION A. The Place of the Juvenile Program in_the Department. The place of the Juvenile Program in a police depart- ment is very important. Very often One is able to assess how the members of the force and especially the members in the higher ranks think about police work with juveniles if one considers where the juvenile program is sometimes placed in the police department. lOMimeographed report about the duties of the- Juvenile Bureau of the Hague to the Commissioner in charge of Juvenile Bureau and Vice Squad, 1925. 32 At conferences and in research studies about police work with juveniles, people are always concerned with the place of the juvenile program, as they feel that the start of a good program is the place where the first step on the road to success is taken. In a study about police work with juveniles of the Children's Bureau in Washington in the United States the following is mentioned: Because of the extent of the needs for juvenile Specialization will vary with local conditions both within and without the police department, there can be no rigid place for it in an organizational structure. Of primary importance is the relationship of the officer or unit to the administrator. A very important subject has been brought up here: the relationship between the Chief of Police and the juvenile police program. There is a difference between the larger forces and the smaller ones on this subject. In a force as large as the police force of the Hague, it is impossible for the Chief Commissioner to have a direct supervision over the juvenile police program. In the smaller forces there is always a closer contact (or Should be) between the Chief of Police and his personnel and there will be less organizational problems. In the Netherlands there is no literature on this subject. In 11Richard A. Myren and Lynn D. Swanson, Police Work with Juveniles, Children's Bureau Publication No. 399, 1962, p. 16. 33 the United States, however, much study has been made on this subject and in the above mentioned booklet of the Children's Bureau in Washington the writers say the follow— ing about the place of the program in a large force: In very large departments, the unit commander may report to a deputy administrator for operation or services who also supervises other like divisions. In either case (i.e. whether there is a direct contact with the Chief or indirect through one of his deputies) the juvenile unit commander Should be on par with other division commanders, and report to the same administra- tor. Where such grouping exists, the placing of the juvenile division Should emphasize the responsibility of the unit commander to assure that the entire depart- ment has a sound approach in the handling of children.12 This is not only true in the United States but applies also to the Netherlands. As mentioned in the section about the history of the juvenile program in the Hague, the program initially fell directly under the responsibility of the Chief Commissioner, which was understandable as he had much to do with the establishment: he also felt and correctly that the two nurses needed his support to gain acceptance in the force. There has been a change, however, and the force and the Juvenile Program have expanded. The Juvenile Bureau has its own special place in the force and is completely equivalent to the other units in the force. When looking at the organization chart of the lZIbid., p. 16. 3.35m .85. sauna , 858a . 0.2.... £226. 65... 38a . Z 31.9.5 :NEJQ L .385 quuwa 35890. 1 mcoomtsm tracings 1 E 3825 ‘8 S3... 3:91 a 6.5.5 ooh 1 god. ts - 1 38.3 1 Mela. £1... .3 .3 _Oon_ pocfiuk. . r 3 Eccomba 1 3,184... 1 we 85 1 :33 6:88.13 H trio 1% H r sootzm r :83 rggcwsfi 1 Sufism 6:86. 9.38 Sea 3. E35 83 ES .9280 a»... .1 5.3.1.5.. . 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