Someone with a migration background is more likely to be prosecuted and imprisoned after being suspected of a crime. This is partly due to ethnic profiling, according to a new study commissioned by the Dutch Parliament.
The Scientific Research and Documentation Centre (WODC) conducted the research. The Dutch Parliament wanted to know if it is true that groups with a migration background are more likely to be suspected of a crime, and then to be prosecuted and punished.
The WODC investigated so-called “cumulative” overrepresentation. This means that people with a migration background are more strongly represented than expected based on their share of the total population.
The researchers conclude that this is indeed the case. The further along the criminal justice chain, the greater this overrepresentation becomes. This means that someone with a migration background is more likely to ‘flow through’ from suspicion to prosecution and a prison sentence.
This is certainly the case for juvenile suspects. Of the registered suspects, 46 percent of the juvenile suspects have a migration background. Upon registration with the Public Prosecution Service (OM), this has already risen to 49 percent. Of the minors who receive a prison sentence, 67 percent have a migration background.
Also overrepresentation among adult suspects
Overrepresentation is also clearly visible in adults. There, 45 percent of the registered suspects have a migration background. For those who are ultimately sentenced to imprisonment, that share has risen to 55 percent.
According to the researchers, at least part of the overrepresentation is the result of ethnic profiling. Ethnic profiling means that someone’s origin or skin color is taken into account, consciously or unconsciously.
For both minors and adults, the WODC sees no major difference between immigrants and people who were born in the Netherlands and of whom at least one parent was born abroad. The research focused on suspects who were registered by the police between 2014 and 2018.