Intensive Supervision Unit

Prison system: what is the AIT?

The AIT provides special accommodation for prisoners who are considered to need intensive supervision. Its regime falls between that of a regular prison unit and the Extra Security Institution (Extra Beveiligde Inrichting, EBI). AIT units are located in the prisons at Leeuwarden, Krimpen aan den IJssel, Arnhem, Alphen aan den Rijn and Sittard.

The supervision aims to prevent prisoners from continuing criminal activities from prison, expanding their networks or putting pressure on others. It also aims to make contact with the outside world easier to monitor.

Activities are organised separately from other units. This means AIT prisoners do not come into contact with prisoners from those units. One aim is to prevent messages or instructions from being passed on.

Who can be placed in the AIT?

Placement is possible where there is a high risk of:

• escape, possibly with help from others;
• serious criminal activity from prison;
• persistent prohibited contact with the outside world that could seriously disrupt society.

The target group mainly consists of people who commit crime that undermines society. However, preventing crime from prison is not the only possible reason for placement. This follows from the decision of the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) of 17 April 2023, 22/30865/GA. Its appeals committee assesses disputes about detention decisions.

Individual reasons are required

The decision must explain why this particular prisoner needs to be placed in the AIT. The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) emphasised this in its decision of 1 May 2024, 23/37388/GA.

This also applies where GVM measures have already been imposed: additional supervision measures for prisoners who pose an escape risk or a risk to society. Such measures do not automatically justify AIT placement. The prison governor must explain why the more intensive supervision in the AIT is also necessary.

The AIT requires a ‘high risk’, compared with an ‘extremely high risk’ for the EBI. According to the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ), this distinction is not clear enough. It also considers the minimum threshold for AIT placement unclear.

Duration and extension

The placement period is twelve months. After that, a selection officer (selectiefunctionaris) decides whether to extend it, each time for twelve months.

The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) has criticised this fixed period and recommends a period of no more than twelve months. This would allow more scope to assess how long placement is needed for each individual. Restrictions must be necessary and proportionate to the risk.

In its advice on the proposed placement rules, the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) also recommended:

• describing more specifically the risks that make placement necessary;
• classifying the AIT as an enhanced-security unit, rather than as special accommodation;
• setting out clear rules on how a return to a normal-security unit is possible;
• using a single selection advisory committee for both AIT and EBI placements.

Daily programme, spiritual care and leave

The AIT has facilities for cooking, exercise, work and outdoor exercise. The programme is similar to that of regular units, but activities take place within the unit itself as far as possible.

The daily programme is a general rule. Normally, you cannot lodge a formal complaint (beklag) against it, unless the rule conflicts with higher-ranking legislation or regulations. No such conflict was found in the decision of the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) of 22 May 2024, 21/24264/GA.

Spiritual care

Activities in an AIT may be shorter. Article 41 of the Prisons Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw) is relevant to spiritual care. This Act sets out rights and duties during detention.

In the decision of the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) of 6 February 2024, 23/33951/GA, the appeals committee accepted an offer of half an hour of spiritual care. It referred to the decision of 13 February 2023, R 20/7558/GA. According to these decisions, the fact that an hour is customary does not mean that a shorter offer is automatically insufficient.

Promotion and demotion

Before the change in the law, AIT prisoners could be promoted to the enhanced programme, according to the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ). This follows from its decisions of 24 March 2022, 20/16514/GA, and 25 October 2024, 24/42064/GA.

The position is uncertain following the change in the law. The promotion and demotion system does not apply to an enhanced-security regime. At the same time, the AIT is also classified as special accommodation, which is not automatically the same as enhanced security. The outcome may depend on the combination of the designated purpose and security level of the institution concerned. The appeals committee has not yet ruled on this situation.

No end-of-sentence leave

Prisoners in the AIT are excluded from end-of-sentence leave. This is set out in Article 33c, paragraph 6(c), of the Regulation on Temporary Leave from the Institution (Regeling tijdelijk verlaten van de inrichting).

Phone calls and visits since 1 November 2025

Since the amendment to the Prisons Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw), a fixed set of additional security measures has applied to AIT prisoners.

Phone calls

You may make three ten-minute phone calls per week. This follows from Article 40c, paragraph 1(b), of the Prisons Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw). Before the change in the law, up to seven ten-minute calls per week were allowed.

Ordinary contacts must pass screening in advance. During the call, they must be at a designated location, have reported there and verified their identity, and use a designated telephone. Fourteen locations of the Custodial Institutions Agency (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen, DJI) have been designated for this purpose in the Netherlands.

The same conditions apply to phone calls with contacts abroad. Permission from the Minister is also required. Lawyers do not have to travel to a designated location for a phone call.

Visits

You may receive one visit of one hour per week, under Article 40c, paragraph 1(a), of the Prisons Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw). Previously, one hour was the minimum and the governor could allow more visiting time. That power has been removed.

The following are allowed during each visiting session:

• two adult visitors, but not at the same time; or
• one visitor under 18 together with one adult visitor.

Visitors may take turns during the visiting session. This differs from the rules in the EBI.

Screening of family and other contacts

A contact must be approved in advance for visits, phone calls and sending or receiving money. The governor decides this after receiving advice from the police and the National Intelligence and Security Bureau of the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI).

If approval is granted, the decision normally applies for one year. There may be reasons to allow a shorter period. If approval is refused, the decision applies for six months. After that, screening can be requested again.

If the contact has been in detention themselves

Someone who is currently in detention cannot visit or call an AIT prisoner, or exchange post with them.

Was the person released from detention less than six months ago? Visits and phone contact are not allowed in that case either. Only the Minister can decide otherwise.

Further restrictions by the Minister

The Minister can temporarily impose very far-reaching restrictions on contact with the outside world. There must be indications that the prisoner is using contacts for seriously intimidating or life-threatening activities outside the institution, or that public order or safety may be at risk.

The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) recognises that intrusive measures may be needed temporarily, but warns against general restrictions that do not sufficiently take individual circumstances into account. These may place prisoners under an unnecessarily harsh regime.

Contact with your lawyer and post

A maximum of two designated lawyers

You may have confidential contact with no more than two designated legal advisers. You name them using the ‘Designated legal adviser’ (Aangewezen rechtsbijstandverlener) form. The lawyer then confirms that they represent you, provides their BAR registration number and returns the form to the institution.

A replacement is possible in special circumstances. With your consent, the designated lawyer can ask the Director-General of the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) for permission. Only after permission has been granted does the replacement receive the special status for confidential visits, phone calls and post.

It may be possible to designate an additional lawyer if you become involved in a court case in another area of law and your two lawyers do not have sufficient knowledge or expertise in that area. You must also ask the Director-General of the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) for permission for this. Without that permission, the additional lawyer does not have the status of a designated legal adviser.

Rules for post from lawyers

Separate rules apply to privileged post — post with special confidential status:

• Post from the two designated lawyers may be handed to you. It may be checked for prohibited items in your presence.
• Privileged post from other lawyers is not handed to you, but is returned with an explanation of the reason.
• Non-privileged post from other lawyers may be handed to you. Its contents may also be checked.

Camera monitoring during visits from your lawyer

During in-person meetings with your lawyer, staff watch via a camera. The meeting is continuously monitored visually, but without sound. It is not possible to read case documents or notes through this monitoring.

One aim of the monitoring is to prevent a lawyer from being threatened or put under pressure. The footage is deleted immediately afterwards. It is kept only if the meeting is interrupted and the governor terminates it because of concealed or intimidating communication.

After an interruption, the governor decides whether the meeting will end permanently. If it is terminated, the dean of the local bar in the district where the lawyer has their office is informed. The dean supervises lawyers.

The four-eyes principle

For professional contact, for example with probation officers, civil-law notaries, doctors and spiritual care providers, these professionals must work in pairs inside the institution. This is also intended to help prevent pressure, coercion and threats.

Complaining about the termination of a lawyer’s visit

You can lodge a formal complaint (beklag) against the governor’s decision to terminate your lawyer’s visit with the institution’s complaints committee (beklagcommissie). This is a formal complaint against that decision.

Your written complaint must be submitted no later than the seventh day after the day on which you were informed of the decision. If you lodge a formal complaint (beklag), the camera footage is deleted six weeks after the complaint deadline.

Both you and the governor can appeal against the ruling of the complaints committee (beklagcommissie). The written appeal must be submitted no later than seven days after the day on which a copy of the ruling was received or the ruling was communicated orally. If an appeal is lodged, the footage is kept until the day after the appeals committee’s ruling.

The position is different for the general daily programme: a formal complaint (beklag) is only possible if it conflicts with higher-ranking legislation or regulations.

What does this mean for you?

AIT placement also requires preparation by family and other loved ones. In particular, keep the following in mind:

• Check the reasons for placement. The decision must address your personal circumstances. Simply referring to GVM measures is not enough.
• Arrange screening in advance. The contact must be approved for visits, phone calls and sending or receiving money.
• Plan phone calls carefully. An approved family member cannot simply receive a call at home, but must go to a designated location.
• Coordinate visits. Restrictions apply to the number of visitors and whether they can be present at the same time during the visiting hour.
• Record who your lawyers are. Separate permission is required for a replacement or an additional confidential legal adviser.
• Watch the deadline if a lawyer’s visit is terminated. Discuss a complaint with your lawyer immediately so that you can act in time.

Following the change in the law, good behaviour does not automatically mean that promotion to the enhanced programme is possible. If you have questions about this, have someone assess which designated purpose and security level apply to your unit.

This page draws on the expertise of Mr. S.P.C. (Stan) Broekmans, a specialist in detention law at Hameleers Antonides Advocaten. Do you have a question about your own situation? Please get in touch; an initial assessment is free.

Other topics

• Arrestant detainees
• Belongings
• Camera surveillance
• Compensation
• Complaints procedure (beklagprocedure)
• Compulsory treatment