ABSTRACT
In 2008 conditional release was reintroduced in the Netherlands. The aim of conditional release is to reduce repeat offending by stipulating general and specific conditions for the probation period and, ultimately, to make society safer. This has not been consistently expressed in the new arrangement of the law. Granting early release is not only a matter of looking forward but it is also a matter of looking back: how did someone behave in prison?
By making conditional release the key to a safer society, the Justice Department is creating a dilemma for itself: early release can be granted to reduce repeat offending via interventions but early release can also be denied to reduce repeat offending. Risk assessment is an essential part of the early release decision-making process, but this is done by people, and people sometimes make mistakes. How this will be addressed depends on the image of society in the decision-makers' minds.
