Crime Prevention and Safety Centre, The Netherlands

In March 2004, the Dutch Council of Ministers agreed to the setting up of a centre for crime prevention and safety (Dutch acronym- CCV).  The CCV (expected to become operational in June 2004) is an initiative of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, and is part of the Government's Safety programme.

The CCV will act as the central point, where public and private organisations alike can find information and expertise on crime prevention and safety. Based on the premise that authorities and private partners can each contribute to crime prevention and safety according to their own responsibilities and capabilities, it was decided that the CCV would be set up as a private foundation, and managed and operated through a public and private partnership.

Some of the initial tasks of the CCV will include: 

• Gathering information and disseminating best practices on tackling crime problems and increasing safety at a local level and in specific areas of corporate industry;
• Signalling trends, developments and problems in practice and setting the agenda;
• Supporting and facilitating existing networks
• Developing policy instruments and quality control to provide more coherence. 

Once the CCV is established, the executive tasks of a number of organisations will be combined into one single administration agency. These include: advice centres that provide information on local safety(Informatie Lokale Veiligheid), and on drugs and safety (Informatie Drugs en Veiligheid), which are both run by the Association of Dutch Municipalities(VNG), a number of foundations and steering groups such as the Stichting NPC, including its foundations on tackling vehicle crime, and steering groups on robbery crime, financial institutions, quality marks for secure entrepreneurship, certification marks for going out safely and information technology & crime. 

For more information, contact:

Ministry of Justice
P.O. Box 20301
2500 EH The Hague
The Netherlands
Telephone: + 31 70 370 6161
Fax: + 31 70 370 7250
Website: www.minjus.nl