De strafmaat voor jeugdige daders van ernstige gewelds- en zedenmisdrijven in internationaal perspectief

This report presents the results of a multidisciplinary study into the sentencing of youth offenders who have committed serious violent or sexual offences. It has been conducted by a group of independent researchers. This study is conducted in the context of current political discussion concerning the maximum duration of youth detention in the Netherlands.1 The aim of this research is to provide insight into the sentencing of youth in various European jurisdictions, as well as to explore the extent to which the findings should lead to an adjustment of the Dutch criminal law approach to youth who are convicted of a serious violent or sexual offence. This study considers the legal framework and practices in the Netherlands and five other European countries, namely Belgium (Flanders), Germany, England & Wales, Ireland and Sweden, concerning the sentencing of youth offenders (12-23 years) of serious violent or sexual offences. Moreover, a systematic literature review has been conducted concerning the outcomes of sentences imposed on youth offenders of serious violent or sexual offences and it is attempted to gain insight into the effectiveness of imposed sentences, in particular in relation to recidivism, in the selected countries. The central research question of this study is: Which sentences are applied in the Netherlands and other European countries to youth of 12 to 23 years of age who have committed a serious violent or sexual offence, what is the effectiveness of these sentences and how do these relate to international and European children’s and human rights standards?