Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

Ten years ago, a new reward system was introduced in Dutch prisons: the only way prisoners could earn extra ‘freedoms’ was through good behaviour. Jan Maarten Elbers concludes that this system does little to encourage behavioural change and can even be counterproductive.

Prisoners who are visited regularly by family or friends are less likely to be reconvicted in the short term than inmates who rarely or never receive visits. Visits should therefore be encouraged and facilitated, according to PhD candidate Maria Berghuis, who will defend her doctoral thesis on 23 June…

Prisoners who have little or no contact with the outside world are more prone to reoffend. What makes visits so important?

Cuts in the prison system threaten to be at the expense of security, including that of society, writes university lecturer Esther van Ginneken in an opinion piece in Dutch newspaper NRC.

Adults are more likely to reoffend after a short prison sentence than comparable adults with a non-custodial sentence, Leiden University research shows. This is true for the likelihood and extent of repeat crime.

One perspective, one cell, one outlook on life: what are we all prisoners of? That’s the question Vrij Nederland put to various experts, including Joni Reef, Assistant Professor and Research Fellow at the Department of Criminology.

Dutch political parties have presented their own 'solutions' to make society 'safer'. How do the party positions compare with scientific research on crime reduction?

Why do violent incidents occur in prisons? And how do staff respond? Assistant Professor Esther van Ginneken will use a grant from the NWO Vidi Talent Programme to conduct research into these and other questions. She intends to make use of virtual reality.

If you end up in prison somewhere in the world, the chances are you won’t be allowed to vote. If it were up to researchers Tom Theuns and Andrei Poama, rather than disenfranchise felons, we would oblige them to vote. That would be a better way to express democratic values.

Prisoners deserve better professional support when preparing to return to society. PhD candidate Amanda Pasma: ‘You can’t imprison everyone for life. Society will have to give prisoners a second chance.’

The Dutch Senate recently voted on a ban on imposing community service after physical violence towards public service providers. Courts are no longer allowed to issue these sentences in case of extreme violence and vice crimes. The punishment for these crimes will be an enforced prison sentence. But…

Labour market reintegration: what is working and what could be done better? These questions were at the centre of Dutch BNR Nieuwsradio's podcast ‘Werkverkenners’. The podcast makers interviewed Anke Ramakers, Assistant Professor of Criminology at the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, for answers…

For a successful return to society, incarcerated individuals must work on their reentry during their sentence. Not all such individuals receive good reentry support. This is according to a report by Leiden criminologists.

This page provides more information about the mentor-tutor system at Leiden University. What is it? What are its objectives? Where can mentors, tutors, and coordinators find more information and teaching materials?

Leiden University has a high rate of student success. The Leiden Study System was developed to help students study faster and more effectively. They receive the optimum support while choosing which programme to study and during their studies themselves.

Palestinian national Abu Zubaydah was captured by the CIA in March 2002 and has remained in detention ever since, without any form of trial. Leiden professor Helen Duffy is doing all she can to secure his release or a fair trial. Her hopes now lie on international pressure and the UN Working Group on…

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

Leiden University devotes a great deal of attention to the security of its systems. Nevertheless there may still be vulnerabilities in our systems. If you discover such a vulnerability, please let us know as soon as possible.

Many problems in criminal law can be predicted by the academic world and using knowledge from criminal law practice, says criminal lawyer Professor Patrick van der Meij.

Poama and Theuns co-wrote an opinion piece on why voting in prison should be mandatory worldwide. It appeared on National Interest's website on February 12.

Since 1 January 2020 - with the transition to the Dutch Civil Code - the system of writing off leave has changed. When you take leave, the system automatically writes off the hours that fall due first.

Roughly arrested and subjected to extreme isolation. Using his experience, expert Jason Bhugwandass spoke to 50 young people who have spent time on Zikos wards (‘very intense, short-term observation and stabilisation wards’). He concluded that they’re ‘mostly locked up’ and leave ‘even more traumatised’…

For the first time, research has been conducted on how the health of detained persons prior to their detention differs from that of non-detainees and to what extent health problems change over the period: from before and after their detention.

ICT

PhD defence

Seksueel grensoverschrijdend gedrag en structurele sociale onveiligheid horen niet thuis in vrouwengevangenissen, blijkt uit onderzoek van Leidse onderzoekers Esther van Ginneken en Yara Abbing. Zij vinden dat er een ingrijpende cultuurverandering nodig is en doen aanbevelingen.

Compared to suspects with the Dutch nationality, foreign nationals face court proceedings more often and are given a prison sentence more often than Dutch suspects. This was the outcome of research conducted by Hilde Wermink, Assistant Professor at Leiden Law School, and American sociologist Michael…

Five Leiden research projects in history, law and AI have received SSH Open Competition M 2024 funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The researchers have up to five years to work on a promising idea.

PhD defence

Lecture

Door aangescherpte verlofregels kunnen gedetineerden niet met verlof, terwijl dat hun re-integratie bevordert.

PhD defence