Experimental and quasi-experimental criminological research in the Netherlands

This special issue of the journal is focused on experimental and quasi-experimental research in the Netherlands.It includes four Dutch studies of crime and law enforcement and one paper dealing with the practical implementation of (randomized) experiments and evaluation research in the Dutch criminal justice system.These papers reflect the most recent developments in criminology and criminal justice in the Netherlands, a country with hardly any tradition in experimental criminological research.In the first half of the 20th century, only one experimental study was developed in Holland.In 1921 Jan de Jongh received his Ph.D. in medicine at the University of Amsterdam for a quasi-experimental study on the changes in moral judgments of boys and girls of different age groups.The experimental groups were in custody at that time, and the control groups consisted of 'normal' juveniles (De Jongh 1921).No other experimental study was published after this Ph.D.