ABSTRACT
Decisions regarding the execution of a sentence may be no less controversial than the decision on the initial sentence imposed. As both community service orders and conditional release are often considered as a less severe sanction or execution mode that is imposed or granted under certain conditions, their legitimacy relies heavily on whether compliance with conditions is ensured. Media coverage regarding the failure of community sentences periodically led to public agitation in the Netherlands. In recent years more strict regulation on the enforcement of community service orders was introduced, while the system of early release was replaced by a system of conditional release. Despite the tightening of the rules, it looks as if decision-making in breach processes is still highly individualized. The primary focus of all parties involved is to make a success of the community service order and characteristics of the offender are more decisive for the decision to breach than the seriousness of the infraction. Recall decisions have occasionally sparked debate, mostly fuelled by criticism of leniency toward breach violations raised by politicians in the run-up to elections or in the immediate aftermath of recall decisions regarding high-profile convicts that have been the subject of widespread media coverage. In general, however, the Prosecutor seems to adopt a rather pragmatic approach with regard to the decision to take these cases back to court, while the courts take a relatively tolerant attitude towards minor violations.
