Eight forensic care institutes are taking the Ministry of Justice and Security to court. According to the clinics, there is currently too little budget for them to effectively treat dangerous patients with a mental or psychiatric disorder. The shortages in the clinics are increasing and that can create dangers for society, the clinics said, RTL Nieuws reports.
psychiatric prison
Oct 23 '19 14:00
Violence and aggression are commonplace within the walls of the psychiatric prison institutions in the Netherlands. A serious incident occurs in one of the 13 such institutions more than once a week, the Telegraaf reports based on figures requested from the Ministry of Justice and Security.
The Ministry only provided the Telegraaf with figures on incidents of violence among patients themselves and of incidents of violence by patients directed at staff resulting in serious injury. Since the start of 2017, there has been 169 such incidents, according to the newspaper.
Sep 13 '19 15:00
A man convicted of child sex abuse escaped from the Pompekliniek psychiatric institution during a supervised bike ride on Thursday afternoon. A bulletin announcing his escape, combined with the work of a specialized police team, led to his capture on Friday, police confirmed.
Jun 27 '19 08:39
Prisoners serving sentences of institutionalized psychiatric care may soon have to wear an ankle monitor when they are on leave from the psychiatric clinic treating them. Minister Sander Dekker for Legal Protection announced that the government will experiment with this starting in the fall, RTL Nieuws reports.
The electronic monitoring tool is currently only used in the prison system. The ankle monitor keeps track of where the wearer is, recording his or her movements.
May 30 '19 09:56
The Ministry for Legal Protection implemented a number of extra measures and stricter rules for psychiatric institutions that treat prisoners following the murder of Anne Faber, Minister Sander Dekker said in a letter to parliament. The 25-year-old woman was raped and killed by Michael P., who was being treated by such a clinic at the time for the last part of the prison sentence he received for raping two minor girls.
May 3 '19 08:02
Minister Sander Dekker for Legal Protection called reports that psychiatric prisoners may be involved in the killing of a 72-year-old man in his Lelystad apartment "disturbing".
The victim was found dead in his home on Sunday. The police believe he was killed somewhere during the weekend of April 19th to 21st. Two men aged 48 and 35 from Almere were arrested for involvement in his murder.
May 2 '19 11:50
The police arrested a second suspect in connection with the death of a 72-year-old man in his Lelystad home. Like the first suspect arrested in this case, 35-year-old Michael B. was previously sentenced to institutionalized psychiatric treatment, the Telegraaf reports.
72-year-old Gerrit Thomassen was found dead in his home on Rode Klif in Lelystad on Sunday. On Monday the police arrested 48-year-old Jan van K. on suspicion of involvement in Thomassen's death.
Apr 19 '19 08:24
A 24-year-old man was caught trading weapons from within the psychiatric prison in Heiloo. He was arrested last week. The man, Herman D. from Ermelo, had three cellphones and a laptop with him from which he ran his business, the Telegraaf reports.
The laptop and phones were found in the suspect's room in Heiloo, sources told the newspaper. In 2017, D. was sentenced to a short prison sentence and institutionalized psychiatric treatment, because he stabbed three men in Nieuw-Vennep, the man's lawyer confirmed to the newspaper.
Sep 7 '18 11:10
A psychiatric prisoner escaped from the Pompekliniek in Nijmegen on Wednesday evening and is still at large, a spokesperson for the clinic confirmed to newspaper AD.
The man did not officially escape from the clinic itself. He was out on leave, but never returned. The man was previously transferred for fleeing during a leave period, the spokesperson said. He would give no further information about the escaped man.
Aug 24 '18 07:50
Psychiatric prison Kijvelanden in the Zuid-Holland village of Poortugaal was partly evacuated on Thursday evening due to a fire in one of the cells. A 29-year-old man was injured in his cell, but did not have to go to hospital, NU.nl reports.
The fire was under control about an hour after it started. One floor of the prison was evacuated. The eleven people staying on that floor were taken to another floor in the building, a spokesperson for the local safety office said to the newspaper.
May 7 '18 08:13
A female employee of psychiatric prison De Rooyse Wissel in Oostrum was assaulted by a detainee on Sunday afternoon. The assault happened in the clinic's day activity center, the clinic said in a statement on its website.
The employee was taken to hospital for examination. "We are very shocked by this event. Our first focus is on the care of our employees and patients." De Rooyse Wissel said.
The police are investigating the incident, and the clinic also launched an internal investigation.
Aug 5 '15 09:36
Three people had to be treated for smoke inhalation after a fire in a cell in the Van Mesdag psychiatric prison in the city of Groningen.
