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Implementation
Initiatives have already been developed in the Netherlands that correspond with the areas requiring
special attention that have been stated. The ‘Initiatief Niets Doen is Geen Optie’ [‘Doing Nothing is not
an Option’ Initiative] (INDIGO) of the Rotterdam-Rijnmond police district forms an example of lowintensity
interventions that are applied to low-risk viewers of child abuse material. 590
Diagnosis and recommendations
The aim of diagnosis by probation and after-care or behavioural experts is to be able to make an assessment
of, on the one hand, the risk that the offender will re-offend, and on the other hand, the risk
of harm to victims and society, and to be able to establish the possibility of influencing the offender’s
behaviour. On the basis of such a diagnosis, a recommendation is formulated. 591 A basic requirement
when putting interventions into place is that the offenders (are able to) bear responsibility for their own
behaviour. 592 They must be responsive to interventions (responsiveness). Their behaviour has to change
as a result of – and following – the use of the interventions. As long as behavioural change cannot be
achieved, the risk of re-offending continues to exist. 593
It emerges from the literature that the likelihood of reoffending (recidivism) is highest amongst those
with a preferential or exclusive predilection for children. 594 The highest percentages of recidivism are
found amongst the group with a homosexual preference for boys in the pre-adolescent years. The
group of unmarried men whose victims are boys outside of their family has a re-offending percentage
of 77% over a period of 30 years. 595 The combination of sexual offences that have been committed
in the past and an excessive consumption of alcohol also seem to have a predictive value. 596
The lowest likelihood of re-offending is found amongst offenders who have committed incest. 597
590 The intention of Indigo is to be able to take action without having to pursue the whole course of detection
and without having to take the criminal prosecution route. A group of suspects that were selected
commenced treatment. A number of others had a ‘good chat’ with the police, whereby they were issued
with a cautionary notice. If it appears that something is wrong with an IP address again, or if new information
emerges, an individual may still be prosecuted, see www.jaarberichtom.nl/jaarverslag-2010/
typeinfo.cijf/aDU1045_Landelijke-expertisecentrum-kinderporno-vroegtijdig-ingrijpen.aspx (viewed
20 June 2011). See also §3.5.1.
591 Poort, 2009, pp.27-28; Poort & Eppink, 2009, pp.48-55. A diagnosis involves determining the likelihood
of an individual re-offending as well as determining the risk of injury. The risk of injury does not only
involve the likelihood of personal injury (for others), but also the severity of that injury (in short: risk
of injury = likelihood of personal injury x severity of personal injury).
592 This does not apply to sex offenders with psychological and psychiatric disorders.
593 Poort & Eppink, 2009, p.13.
594 Lanning, 2010, p.52.
595 Leuw et al., 2004.
596 Finkelhor, 1984, pp.115-16.
597 Leuw et al., 2004. It seems that those who commit incest are usually situational offenders, because
they only make use of the availability of their younger family members. They re-offend less often if the
family situation that facilitated and fostered the abuse in the first place no longer exists. This does not
necessarily mean that it is not possible that abuse may take place frequently and over a long period of
time; it is merely intended to provide information about the likelihood of repeat offences following
discovery, prosecution and trial.
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