ABSTRACT
Reducing the high rates of recidivism among imprisoned offenders in the Netherlands (where the average rate of seven years’ recidivism for all types of offenders is 70 per cent) has proved to be a difficult task (see Wartna et al ., 2003, 2008). In 2009 over 35,000 offenders left prison. Over 80 per cent of them already had a criminal record when they entered prison. In the two years following release, roughly half of them were once again convicted of what is generally a serious enough crime to send them back into prison. Continuity in criminal behaviour seems to be an essential part of the lifestyle of the majority of people who commit serious crimes.
