QUANTITATIVE CRIMINOLOGY IN THE NETHERLANDS

This article briefly describes quantitative criminology in The Netherl ands since the seventies. Dutch quantitative criminologists have been active in most fields of the discipline of criminology: research has b een done on the etiology of crime and, in relation to this, the self-r eport methodology. A number of victimization surveys have been execute d, and in relation to this, attention was given to fear of crime, vict ims in the judicial system, and situational approaches to crime. There has been research on policy evaluation, sentencing, and differential treatment in the criminal justice system, and alternative sanctions. R ecently three major international studies have been coordinated by Dut ch criminologists: an international self-report study, an internationa l victim survey of households, and an international survey of victimiz ation among businesses. In this article we describe the first two stud ies and briefly compare some of their features. Overall, it appears th at Dutch quantitative criminology is embedded in the international mai nstream of criminology and, in general, has been strongly related to p olicy concerns.