"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
"Dream, Dream, Dream! Conduct these dreams into thoughts, and then transform them into action."
- Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
6 Jun 2017
It is good news to hear that prisons are shutting down due to decline in crime rates. Five Dutch prisons are going to be closed in the Netherlands due to the staggeringly low crime rates.
In 2013, the Dutch government had closed 19 of their prisons. The government ordered the closures as it was becoming difficult to maintain the prisons. The tiny country doesn't have the capital to maintain such large, unoccupied facilities.
The prisons at the Zoetermeer, Heerhugowaard, Almere, Almelo, Ter Apel locations will soon be closed.
The government's investment in rehabilitation programmes and lighter drug laws have led to the decrease in crime rates. The prisoners are allowed to make their lives more productive instead of languishing in cells.The use of electronic ankle tags allows prisoners convicted of minor offenses to go back to work and participate in society. Thus it is possible to monitor the prisoners instead of keeping them in prisons and using up millions of federal tax dollars.
The above measures have significantly helped to bring down the incarceration rate. Currently, the incarceration rate in Netherlands is 69 incarcerations per 100,000 Dutch people which are very low as compared to 716 per 100,000 in the United States which has the highest ranking incarceration rate.
The closure of prisons will render many people jobless. It has been decided to transfer a large percentage of the workers to other positions within Dutch law enforcement.
