Den Dolder psych institute to share info about patients; Union objects

The Altrecht psychiatric institution in Den Dolder promised to release an overview of the patients currently in the clinic within the next few days. The overview will show what percentage of the patients are serving prison sentences of which length, but not specifically what they were sentenced for. The association for law breakers BWO is against this plan and filed summary proceedings to try and stop it, RTV Utrecht reports.

The reason for this overview is the arrest of Altrecht patient Michael P. The 27-year-old man was arrested at the institution earlier this month on suspicion of involvement in the murder of 25-year-old Anne Faber. He was previously convicted of raping two teenage girls in Nijkerk and sentenced to 11 years in prison. P. was transferred to the Altrecht clinic for the last phase of his prison sentence - preparing him for a gradual reintroduction to society.

Over the past days several meetings were held for people living around the institution in Den Dolder, to inform them about the situation around P.'s arrest. During these meetings, local residents asked for clarity about the patients in the institution and why they are there. 

Altrecht promised to provide information on this. A spokesperson for the clinic told RTV Utrecht that it is not yet clear what the overview will look like exactly. But it will show which percentage of patients are serving sentences of four years or less. The length of the sentence should be enough to derive the severity of the crime, the spokesperson said.

The BWO is completely opposed to this overview being released. The association worries that the names of patients and former patients will leak to the public, violating their privacy and affecting their chances of living a normal life. The BWO therefore turned to the court to try and prevent the publication, according to the broadcaster.

Mayor Koos Janssen of the municipality of Zeist, which includes Den Dolder, is "very happy" that the overview will be released, according to NOS. He also said that the police and judiciary will be looking into drug and alcohol use at the clinic, something local residents complained about. "The trouble is sometimes greater than we see in the figures", Janssen said. "Something really needs to happen. Police and enforcers will be deployed."