In this paper we examine to what extent a prison record negatively affects employment and accommodation outcomes after release from prison. Two randomized field experiments were conducted in which we had fictitious persons respond by email to online job openings and online advertisements for rented accommodations. In total, we responded to 384 job openings and to 231 advertisements for rented accommodations. Contrary to expectations, applicants with a prison record were not less likely to receive a positive response from employers than applicants without a prison record. Applicants with a non-western background, however, were less likely to receive a positive response. In the housing experiment, we did find a significant effect of having a prison record. Former prisoners were less likely to receive a positive response during their search for a place to live.

Electronic monitoring is increasingly used as an alternative to imprisonment. Compared to imprisonment, electronic monitoring presumably is less costly. Furthermore, compared to imprisonment electronic monitoring may have less collateral consequences, as detainees who are electronically monitored are able to keep their job, housing and social networks, which are in turn associated with reduced recidivism. On the other hand electronic monitoring may have less of a deterrent effect than imprisonment, and deviant networks also remain intact, which may increase the likelihood of future crime and with it the likelihood of re-imprisonment. Here we make use of data from the Belgian penitentiary register to compare re-imprisonment of those having served their sentence under electronic monitoring and those regularly imprisoned, and limit our analyses to offenders with a prison sentence between six months and three years. We use propensity score matching to control for pre-existing differences between these groups. Our findings show that detainees are less likely to be re-imprisoned after electronic monitoring than after regular imprisonment.

High crime rates among second-generation immigrants are usually attributed to the ethnic group’s social disorganisation and weak socio-economic position in the host society. According to the import theory, the causes of crime can however also be sought in their native countries or regions. Due to a lack of empirical data, this has rarely been tested, with Moroccan immigrants in the Netherlands as exception. Ethnographic research among small groups of delinquent boys in Dutch cities suggests that the rural background or the character of the Rif area of its Moroccan immigrants may explain their high crime rate. In this article we examine whether this holds true when all young Moroccan migrants in the Netherlands are taken into account. Crime data from a Police Identification Service System (HKS) at the individual level are linked with personal data from the Social Statistical Database (SSB) of Statistics Netherlands, including their (parents’) regional descent. Logistic regression analysis shows that the current socio-economic position in the Netherlands is a strong predictor of criminal conduct, while the impact of geographic descent, directly or indirectly via socio-economic position in the Netherlands, is negligible. Based on this study, there is no reason to revise the common explanation of the immigrant-crime nexus.

Dynamic predictors of periods of incarceration across the life course of female prisoners in the Netherlands were examined, inspired by a Gendered Pathways to Offending framework. Through life course calendars and surveys 397 female prisoners were interviewed. Women who were employed, received benefits, experienced childbirth, or were involved with substance abusing partners were less likely to be incarcerated one year later. Women whose parents had divorced, were addicted to hard drugs, worked as prostitutes, were homeless, had debts, had income from crime or a criminal partner, or received treatment for psychological problems were at increased risk for incarceration one year later.