I pride myself on being an advocate for those who are incarcerated here in America and abroad. I have seen vast differences in how the American prison system works compared to others I have studied. I am hoping that by showing the contrasts between the American and Dutch prison systems, we can learn from our friends in Europe and hopefully begin to adopt some of these concepts and practices into our system. I know, it is an impossible feat to change the broken American prison system; however, we must try.

Comparing Both Prison Systems:

Incarceration Rates: According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report issued in 2021, approximately 639 per every 100,000 people are incarcerated in the United States. The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security issued a similar report in 2021, citing that in The Netherlands, 54 out of every 100,000 people are incarcerated.

What does this mean? The stats from these reports show that significantly fewer people are being removed from society for actions deemed illegal by their government in The Netherlands compared to America. It shows us that Americans are imprisoning a lot more of their citizens than the Dutch.

Prison Conditions: You may be surprised to find out hat the Dutch provide their inmates with a single-occupancy jail/prison cell that has a private bathroom, cooking facilities, and there are no prison uniforms. It is more like dorm living than what you imagine in an American prison.

According to the National Institute of Correction, American jails/prisons are often overcrowded. American prisoners are given institution-issued uniforms, no private bathrooms, and they are served food that is made within a localized cafeteria. An average prison cell in America is approximately 6’x8’ if designed for one person (now housing more) and a whoping 8’x12’ for a cell designed for double occupancy now holding about three to five prisoners.

Rehabilitation Focus: The USA typically focuses on punishment and containment, offering little to no rehabilitation programs. The Netherlands system emphasizes rehabilitation and reintegration, offering comprehensive education and vocational training programs. Providing skills that may not have been taught prior to inmates increases their chances of success when they are back in society.

Recidivism Rate: According to Bureau of Prisons (BOP) reports, the recidivism rate in America fluctuates between 44% (within one year of release) to 68%. A report issued by the Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek-en Documentatiecentrum (WODC) shows that only 28% of released Dutch prisoners recommit within the first year.

Average Length of Sentence: The average sentence for someone convicted of a crime in the Netherlands is about 3.3 months. Sentences in America are typically 58.6 months according to BOP. That means the average American serves 55.3 months longer than a Dutch citizen would serve for a similar crime.

Different Mindsets Towards Prisoners:

The Dutch have a very different approach to how they view and respond to criminality within their society. The Dutch focus on the psychological, behavioral, and environmental components that may have contributed to why the person has committed a crime.

The American prison system is set out to alienate its residents from society. They are set out to break social bonds, increase trauma, and promote institutionalization. Inmates have to adhere to a very strict schedule and are forced to create psychological isolation in order to protect themselves from abuse.

Housing: The Dutch believe that if you provide an inmate with a private cell that has lots of light, comfortable furnishings, access to nature, and personal space, you will reduce their anxiety, depression, and remove territorial aggression.

American prisons accommodate their citizens with a lack of natural light, harsh living conditions, limited outdoor access, and overcrowding with shared living quarters. This is designed to induce stress, anxiety, and in turn causes territorial disputes and violence. There is no place for an inmate to take a mental “time-out”.

Psychological Approach to Incarceration: American’s believe that focusing on punishment and creating psychological isolation will teach the person not to recommit in the future. The Dutch have discovered that if you maintain human dignity and preserve a sense of normalcy you reduce stress and help prevent institutionalization making it significantly easier for someone to reintegrate back into society.

The Dutch focus on past trauma, provide therapy, and focus on behavioral reinforcement systems. This means providing positive reinforcement, a rewards system, and encouraging personal responsibility. American’s tend to use a negative reinforcement-dominant method with their inmates. They punish misconduct strictly with very limited access to positive incentives or rewards for good behavior.

Reintegration Psychology: The Dutch believe that one must be prepared before re-entering society. Each inmate is provided with a support network on the outside, healthy community connections, skill development, and is gradually transitioning back into their regular life.

The American system is set up to promote broken connections, community isolation, and gives little to no preparation to someone returning to society. Convicts are thrown back into society with few resources or skills to help them reintegrate.

Implementing a Dutch System in America:

Many of you may be asking yourself how America can begin to adopt a system similar to the Dutch. Some of you may think that it could not be done here in America; you would be incorrect. There are ways that we could start to bring some of the Dutch practices to our failing system.

Normalization Program Implementation: We can start by allowing personal clothing to be worn when being housed in a government facility. Allowing inmates to have more flexible daily schedules allows them to feel as if they are independent creatures and not just wards of the state. Ideally, we would provide more natural lighting, create private prison cells, and improve the communal space.

Policy modifications to visitation, dining protocols, and movement restrictions allow the inmates to keep the feeling of being “human”. Allowing the inmates to supply their own clothing reduces uniform costs and provides a sense of individuality that is intentionally stripped from an American prisoner.

Staff Training and Culture Change: Providing de-escalation techniques and trauma-informed care training to American guards will change the atmosphere of the prison itself. If you then begin to implement cultural competency, focus on rehabilitation, and provide therapeutic approaches to the environment, you are improving the culture for not only the inmate but also the staff.

When bringing up staff re-training, you always run into the argument that it will cost too much. The truth is that the long-term financial benefits outweigh the initial costs incurred when re-training staff. The majority of prisons in America are privatized (https://barbladd.substack.com/p/private-vs-public-prisons-in-america), meaning that the government is paying a private organization to house its criminals. One would think that if the government is footing the bill, they would want the prisons to do their jobs correctly and not continually let out people who do not possess the skills to not re-offend.

Timeline: With proper political, community, and professional support, we could change our system to resemble the Dutch system. Let’s look at a sample implementation process.

Year 1:

• Policy Development: Changing policies to focus on rehabilitation and psychological factors to incarceration .

• Initial Training: Training staff in de-escalation and trauma-informed care.

• Pilot Programs: Review Dutch pilot programs and begin enforcing changes within the prison.

• Infrastructure Planning: Start looking into what it takes to create a healthier environment for prisoners and staff.

• Partnership Development: Reach out to organizations that may help with costs and training.

Year 2:

• Program Expansion: See how the program is evolving.

• Staff Certification: Retraining programs for staff to refresh their skills and become re-certified or certified to work within the prison system.

• Facility Upgrades: Begin the remodel that was planned in year one.

• Evaluation Process: Review reports and statistics to see where changes need to be made and build on successes.

• Success Measurement: Analyze each success metric throughout the prison (rehabilitation and operational) using quantitative data.

Year 3:

• Full Implementation: Prison should be running as similar to the Dutch system as possible.

• Program Refinement: Focus on what changes need to be made and how to implement them into the current system with minimal cost.

• Outcome Assessment: Use quantitative data to assess the pros/cons of the change.

• System Adjustments: Adapt to any changes that need to be made and repair any hiccups that occurred during the implementation process.

• Success Reporting: Provide detailed data on the success of the change.

The Dutch system works because it is deeply rooted in maintaining and restoring humanity within the most outcast members of society. The Dutch believe that if you provide standards, teach usual skills, and promote social/psychological well-being, you are less likely to commit negative actions towards yourself and others. In summary, kind people do kind things; hurt people tend to hurt others. It’s really a simple philosophy that I hope to see America adopt one day.

Barb Ladd, PsyD

References:

American Federal Bureau of Prisons - (https://www.bop.gov)

Netherlands Custodial Institutions Agency - (https://www.dji.nl)

Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum - (https://www.wodc.nl/)

Bureau of Justice - (https://bja.ojp.gov/)

©The Liefde Organization (Barbara Jo Ladd, PsyD): 01-05-2025; All Rights Reserved.