Netherlands: Moroccans sit in jail for lighter crimes than Dutch

Netherlands: Moroccans sit in jail for lighter crimes than Dutch

Boys of Moroccan origin who land in jail commit relatively lighter crimes than boys of Dutch origin. While Dutch boys often sit in jail for sex crimes, assault or arson, Moroccan boys are often there for property crimes, usually not violent ones.

A report presented Tuesday by Gonneke Stevens and Violaine Veen of Utrecht University does away with a number of prevailing notions about Moroccan youth criminals. Often these boys are put away simply as young repeat offenders.

According to the social scientists this gives the first insight into the type of crimes this group commits. More than 80% of Moroccan youth are in a youth institution for property crimes, compared to 45% among the Dutch group [ed: out of boys in such institutions]. The rest are there for a more serious offenses.

And that is not the only thing. Moroccan youth from better integrated families are more likely to fall foul of justice than Moroccans from poorer families.

This is striking, since among the Dutch group it's exactly the other way around. "Possibly Moroccans who want to be part of Dutch society are extra sensitive to life in a society which is not very positive towards their ethnic group. Among some boys this can lead to criminal behavior," Stevens explains.

The researchers followed 300 Moroccans and Dutch prisoners aged 12-18 and their parents. These two groups were also compared with 500 boys who were not in prison.

The Utrecht researchers focused on young delinquents in temporary detention. These boys are still waiting for their sentence. Why didn't they choose boys who had already faced the judge?

"You're not picked up for temporary detention in a youth prison just like that. If that happens, there was usually already contact with the police". There are multiple possible explanations for the differences between young prisoners of Moroccan and Dutch origin.

It can say something about the crimes of Moroccan boys in general. But an earlier study shows that Moroccans are arrested more quickly than Dutch boys. Stevens also asks if the judicial system works as well for the Moroccan and Dutch boys.

Source: AD (Dutch)