Samenvatting

The authors report on a content analysis of semi-structured interviews with twenty-two offenders who had been placed under a special measure in an Institution for Persistent Offenders (ISD). While the sample cannot be considered representative for all ISD offenders, the majority consider the ISD measure useful, mainly for utilitarian reasons. Most offenders want to break with their old life. Prominent in their reports is the relevance attached to proper housing arrangements. Those placed in wards with regular detainees where (hard) drugs are reportedly easily available, regard ISD as less useful.