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Conclusions and recommendations
An integrated approach with respect to convicted sex offenders is lacking. Probation and after-care, the
police, the Public Prosecution Service, municipalities, penal institutions, the Ministry of Security and
Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, scenario teams, Safety Houses, the Employee
Insurance Agency, the Centre for Work and Income and community organisations such as housing
associations and care institutions all play a role within the after-care and supervision of (convicted) sex
offenders, and conflicts are sometimes unavoidable. For example, an exclusion order issued by a municipality
to prevent social unrest may, at the same time, hinder probation and after-care supervision. At the
same time, the institutions involved in the implementation are confronted with the complexity of the
phenomenon of child pornography, incomplete policies and problems in the implementation itself. The
lack of a uniform national framework in the matter of after-care and supervision of convicted offenders
means that the regions need to learn how to deal with the above challenges themselves.
Collaborative associations such as Safety Houses, scenario teams and dual-track or multiple-track teams
already exist in individual regions in the Netherlands, in which involved institutions come together. Those
involved on the front line of such initiatives frequently state that the British supervision system, MAPPA,
is desirable, whilst in the same breath referring to the Dutch Safety Houses and Dutch implementation of
the COSA project. Central control by the probation and after-care service is a component of MAPPA on a
case-level. The starting points formulated by the American Center for Sex Offender Management also seem
to be of value to the Dutch situation and are encountered in the implementation in various regions. Lessons
learnt in Den Bosch in the previously-mentioned sexual abuse case of the swimming teacher Benno
L. were shared with authorities in Amsterdam for the purpose of informing parents in the Amsterdam
sexual abuse case. The Action Plan to Tackle <strong>Child</strong> Abuse also propagates co-operation and an integrated
approach. However, this plan is aimed specifically at children, and states the importance of co-operation
with organisations aimed at perpetrators, but this is, as yet, not widely found in the various regions.
An integrated approach is desirable, and must be required to fulfil a number of conditions. The integrated
nature of the approach should become apparent through the coordination of all processes, organisations
involved, judicial frameworks and requirements. This coordination should promote a focus
on the victim, the monitoring and evaluation of interventions, specialised knowledge and the training of
employees, raising public awareness and co-operation between organisations. The integrated nature of
the approach should also emerge from policy that takes shape on both a national and regional level. This
also means mutual coordination between the regions: the problem does not disappear if the offender
moves house or if an exclusion order is imposed, it simply moves elsewhere. A national programme
and/or expertise centre as part of the Dutch Probation Service, as in the United States, could form a
national policy framework, can serve as a key link between policy and implementation, can collect best
practices in the region and can link up with similar programmes and expertise centres within detection
and prosecution (Programme of Improvements in Tackling <strong>Child</strong> <strong>Pornography</strong>) in order to promote such
an integrated approach. It is important that the specific problems surrounding youth sex offenders are
also included. It is therefore not only a matter of youth sex offenders in the criminal justice chain but
also those offenders who are treated under the forms of civil law. The organisation, registration and
generation of expertise within the juvenile probation service is also a matter that requires attention.
4.2.3.7 Victim assistance
Considering the various aspects involved in being a victim of child pornography offences, the provision of
assistance is necessary in relation to the consequences of both the production of child abuse material, as
well as the distribution, possession and viewing of that material. Production almost always involves sexual
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