News item | 6/26/2023 | 4:30 pm
The cabinet is going to invest extra to help (former) prisoners with a good return outside the prison walls after their sentence. As of this year, an additional amount of up to (in total) € 12 million will be allocated for this purpose. Minister Franc Weerwind for Legal Protection has informed the Lower House of this.
€ 5 million will be earmarked for the retraining and further training of prisoners. This further increases cooperation between the Custodial Institutions Agency and employment companies and improves the provision of education to prisoners. In addition, € 5 million will be spent on cooperation between various parties. This money can be used, for example, to improve the exchange of knowledge between prison staff, the probation service, municipalities and care & safety houses. An additional € 2 million will also be earmarked for municipalities to help prisoners find work or a home. Municipalities can also use this to provide help with other basic conditions, such as arranging an identity document, healthcare (insurance), debt assistance and working on a good social network.
After a misstep, everyone deserves a second chance. The extra investments will help detainees to return outside the walls of a prison in a good way. In this way we prevent them from relapsing into crime less often and we offer them the prospect of reorganizing their lives in a good and honest way’,
says Minister Weerwind.
ID proof
As of September 1, detainees from prison can apply for a Dutch identity card, even if they are registered in another municipality. Municipalities in which a prison is established will be given the authority to do so. For a successful reintegration, it is important that detainees already have proof of identity while serving their prison sentence. Without ID, for example, it is not possible to find work or accommodation. This new working method prevents detainees from leaving prison without a valid ID. This was established in close cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.