Is it possible to deport serious criminal foreigners sooner?
In the media image: Annie Spratt via Unsplash+
Germany is experimenting with policies to deport serious criminal foreigners faster. Could that happen in the Netherlands too? Criminology professor Joanne van der Leun discussed it with Nieuwsuur: 'There is a call for new policies.'
Germany is testing a new way to deport the most serious criminal foreigners more swiftly. Convicted criminals are given a choice: a shorter prison sentence in exchange for immediate deportation. Last year, 105 serious offenders made use of this scheme. They chose early release in return for going back to their country of origin. The Netherlands has the same legal option, but in practice it is hardly used, especially when it comes to asylum seekers and residence permit holders.
The Netherlands generally sticks to the same policies, says Joanne van der Leun. 'There’s a call for new policies. But this is hard to put into practice, even though we already have this legislation. The challenges lie in the implementation: sharing information and services that do not communicate well with one another. So we end up choosing the easier-to-deport foreigners, for the less serious crimes. And that’s a shame.'