Probation services in the Netherlands are private nonprofit organizations that are fully financed by the national Government and perform three main tasks: advise, supervision, and community services. The focus is on preventing recidivism and supporting people under supervision to live a crime-free life. The organizations have a unique position in the criminal justice system, working with suspects in the pre-trial phase period shortly after their arrest until sentencing and supervising people who spend the last phase of a prison sentence in the community, people convicted to a suspended sentence, and community sentences. Therefore, probation services cooperate with other criminal justice organizations, healthcare, social services, and local authorities to reach its aims. Recently, probation services intensified cooperation with prison staff in prisons in order to improve detention and reintegration plans and offer support during detention.
