Inspections demand action plan for youth prisons
Three national inspectorates warn that staff shortages are affecting care, education and safety in juvenile justice institutions.
The Inspectorate of Justice and Security, the Inspectorate of Education and the Health and Youth Care Inspectorate are urgently calling for an action plan for juvenile justice institutions. According to the inspectorates, daily programmes are being shortened, suitable education is not always guaranteed, and young people and staff remain under constant pressure.
Around 450 young people are held in the six Dutch juvenile justice institutions. They are young people who have been convicted of, or are still suspected of, a criminal offence. According to the inspectorates, education, treatment and security should be central there; their stay is not intended as an ordinary punishment.
The inspectorates write that staff shortages are now leading to a structurally curtailed daily programme. As a result, young people spend fewer hours on the unit each week than legally required. On some days, the programme is shortened further or cancelled altogether because there are not enough staff available.
Education is also coming under pressure, according to the regulators. Suitable education is not adequately guaranteed everywhere, and agreements with young people cannot always be honoured. The inspectorates warn that this leads to boredom, irritation and uncertainty about how each day will be structured.
The problems are not new. The inspectorates say they have been concerned about staff shortages and a lack of suitable places since 2019. During recent visits to JJI Lelystad and Teylingereind, they again saw that emergency measures are continuing for too long. Staff try to limit the consequences, but according to the inspectorates, they are not succeeding sufficiently.
According to the inspectorates, the consequences also affect the purpose of juvenile criminal law: preparing young people for a safe return to society and reducing the likelihood of reoffending. They do not claim that every young person will reoffend because of the current circumstances, but they do say that resocialisation is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out.
The regulators are asking the state secretary to establish a minimum standard for quality and residence in the short term. There must also be a clear framework for decisions about staffing and daily programmes. By early 2027, they expect an implementable mandate centred on the pedagogical principle.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- Three national inspectorates are calling for an action plan for juvenile justice institutions.
- According to the inspectorates, staff shortages are leading to cutbacks in daily programmes, treatment and education.
- The inspectorates report that young people sometimes spend fewer hours on the unit than legally required.
- The ministry is working on a new implementable mandate for the JJI institutions.
Left
Arguments The priority should be sufficient staff, education and treatment. From this perspective, cuts or working structurally with emergency measures increase inequality and undermine the task of helping young people return to society.
Values Children’s rights, public care and equal opportunities.
Consequences Greater investment and a lower workload may be more expensive in the short term, but should help prevent dropouts and new offences.
Centre
Arguments The institutions need a clear minimum standard, workable planning and sufficient capacity. The institutional solution lies in an action plan that safeguards security, treatment and education at the same time.
Values Continuity, feasibility and responsible governance.
Consequences Without prioritisation, temporary measures will remain in place; expanding too quickly without staff could create new problems.
Right
Arguments The safety of staff and society must come first. Additional capacity and tighter management are needed, but resources must demonstrably lead to order, supervision and young people taking responsibility.
Values Public order, responsibility and efficiency.
Consequences More capacity may ease the pressure, but from this perspective an approach that is too soft could weaken authority and safety.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The core claims have been directly confirmed by the three inspectorates involved and are consistent with earlier parliamentary information about capacity and staff shortages. No unconfirmed names, figures or causal claims have been added.
- confirmed Around 450 young people are held in six juvenile justice institutions. — Mentioned in the news report by the Inspectorate of Justice and Security. source
- confirmed The inspectorates report cutbacks in care, treatment, education and daily programmes. — The joint inspectorate letter explicitly describes this development. source
- confirmed Daily programmes are sometimes shortened or cancelled because of staff shortages. — This is stated in the section on the effects of the cutbacks. source
- confirmed The inspectorates have been concerned about the JJI institutions since 2019. — The inspectorate identifies 2019 as the starting point of the ongoing concerns. source
- confirmed The state secretary must present an implementable mandate by early 2027. — This is the expectation announced by the inspectorates. source
Editor's note
The warning, figures and consequences described come from the inspectorates. The broader capacity problems at DJI were previously reported to the Lower House by the ministry; a direct causal link with reoffending has not been established.Sources
- Inspecties: met spoed actieplan nodig voor Justitiële Jeugdinrichtingen — Inspectie Justitie en Veiligheid
- Zevende voortgangsrapportage over de capaciteit bij DJI — Tweede Kamer der Staten-Generaal
More on this in Dutch media
- de Volkskrant — „jeugdgevangenissen justitie”
- RTL Nieuws — „jeugdgevangenissen justitie”
- NOS — „jeugdgevangenissen justitie”