Institution for Persistent Offenders (Inrichting voor Stelselmatige Daders, ISD)

When can a court impose ISD?

The ISD measure has existed since 1 October 2004. It replaced the Criminal Detention of Drug Addicts measure (Strafrechtelijke Opvang Verslaafden, SOV), whose programme was incorporated into ISD. ISD is not limited to people with an addiction: it also covers men and women without an addiction and people with mental health problems.

The measure is a last resort for breaking a pattern of repeated crime. The court therefore considers previous sentences and measures, other options, and the connection between personal problems and the risk of further offences.

Only a panel of judges may impose ISD, and only if the public prosecutor requests it (Article 369(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Sv, and Article 38m of the Criminal Code, Sr). Under Article 38m Sr, the following conditions apply:

• The new offence is a crime for which pre-trial detention is permitted.
• In the five years before that offence, there have been at least three final convictions for a crime resulting in a custodial sentence or measure, a measure restricting liberty, or a community service order. A community service order imposed through a final prosecution penalty order may also count. Final means that the decision can no longer be appealed.
• The new crime was committed after those sentences or measures had been carried out.
• There is a serious risk of another crime being committed.
• The safety of people or property requires the measure.

ISD cannot be imposed on someone who cannot be held criminally responsible within the meaning of Article 39 Sr.

Duration and difference from a prison sentence

The maximum duration is two years (Article 38n Sr). For reasons of effectiveness, the Prosecution Guideline for Adult Repeat Offenders uses a minimum duration of one year as its starting point.

Repeated, relatively minor crimes, such as shoplifting, can also lead to ISD. The court assesses not only the latest offence, but also the pattern of offending. The measure focuses on protection and treatment, rather than inflicting suffering as punishment does. Protecting society alone can be sufficient grounds for imposing it.

ISD is an alternative to a prison sentence. According to the Supreme Court, the two cannot be combined for the same set of offences. This also applies when ISD is imposed conditionally (21 March 2006, LJN AV1161).

The residence plan and your support

At the start, a Detention and Reintegration Plan, known as the D&R plan, and a residence plan are drawn up. The residence plan must be ready within one month of the start of the measure (Article 18c of the Custodial Institutions Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw)). It describes how the measure will be carried out and must include at least an assessment of your physical and mental condition and a personal support plan (Articles 44g and 44i of the Prison Rules, Pm).

Those involved include the programme supervisor, the psychological and medical consultation team, and the municipality. The director appoints a programme coordinator who supports you throughout your stay, monitors arrangements and connects the agencies involved (Article 44k Pm).

The programme is tailored to you. Your willingness to receive treatment, the training you need and your progress affect how long each phase lasts. Once the decision imposing ISD is final, decisions on how it is actually carried out are made by the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI).

The prison system: staying inside the institution

Closed phase and care

The intramural phase is the period spent inside the institution. Initially, the focus is on assessing your problems, achieving stability, establishing a daily routine and preparing for your return to society.

As a rule, you stay in a separate ISD unit, rather than with prisoners detained on other criminal-law grounds. The guidance provided should motivate and support you. Attention is given to psychiatric problems, mental healthcare, personal care, housing and finances. This requires additional psychiatric and psychological care and support. Where there is an appropriate medical indication, the measure can also be carried out in a Prison Psychiatric Centre (Penitentiair Psychiatrisch Centrum).

Daily programme and progression regime

An ISD unit has a communal regime (Article 19(1) Pbw). Article 3(2) Pm requires a basic programme of 42.5 hours per week, including at least 22.5 hours of activities and visits. This statutory minimum was also addressed in decisions by the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) on 3 and 9 January 2025.

In addition, the internal ISD Product Specification distinguishes between:

• Basic ISD: at least 43 hours of activities, without gradually increasing freedoms outside the institution. This is intended for people who do not want to cooperate with reintegration and behavioural change.
• ISD progression programme: 48 hours of activities, with the possibility of gradually increasing freedoms outside the institution, for people who are motivated to change their behaviour.

Most people start in the basic regime, often called phase 1. Progression to the programme regime, often called phase 2, follows when a reintegration programme is considered feasible. A return to the previous regime is possible. The ordinary promotion and demotion rules do not apply to ISD (Articles 1b and 1e(a) Rspog).

The Product Specification is an internal guideline, not an independent entitlement or duty of care under the Custodial Institutions Act (Penitentiaire beginselenwet, Pbw). The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) confirmed this distinction on 28 February 2024, case 21/23727/GA.

Intermediate phase and leave

During the intermediate phase, you still live in the ISD unit, but take part in activities outside, such as work, education, structured daytime activities or treatment. This transitional phase is not compulsory: you may move directly to living outside the institution.

During the closed and intermediate phases, escorted or unescorted leave may be granted for a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 52 hours per week (Article 20c RTVI). The outside activities mentioned above do not count as leave and do not reduce that maximum. The director has considerable discretion over the duration and conditions, taking account of your circumstances and sense of responsibility.

Leave during pre-trial detention following a judgment imposing ISD is not the same as leave while the measure is being carried out. In KC2012/069 of 15 February 2012, leave was refused because the ISD measure had not yet started. The comparison with someone held in pre-trial detention following a judgment imposing a prison sentence did not apply.

The extramural phase: living outside

The extramural phase lasts between six months and one and a half years. You may stay in a care institution, in supported accommodation, or independently with structured daytime activities, care or support. The aim is to manage or control problems and return to society.

The selection officer (selectiefunctionaris) decides when this phase starts, after receiving advice from the director and the municipal executive (Article 44l Pm). The municipality is responsible for carrying it out; the director retains overall responsibility (Article 44e Pm).

Among other things, you must:

• follow the programme supervisor’s instructions;
• not commit criminal offences;
• not use hard drugs.

The director or municipal authority may add special conditions (Article 44l(3) Pm). The probation service supervises you and reports to the director each month. Requests for leave must also still be submitted to the director. The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) confirmed this on 1 April 2015, case 15/0116/GA.

Return to the institution

If you breach the conditions or withdraw from residential care or supervision, you may be returned to the institution temporarily or permanently. The selection officer (selectiefunctionaris) decides this on the director’s advice. The director must also obtain information from the municipality and the probation service (Article 44m Pm).

Only in highly exceptional cases may you be returned without a prior decision by the selection officer (selectiefunctionaris). The Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) previously required that officer to explain afterwards why an expedited return had been necessary. On 28 October 2025, the Council (RSJ) changed its position, because a formal complaint (beklag) about the director’s actions can be submitted to the supervisory committee (commissie van toezicht) (25/48730/GB).

The importance of acting within the proper powers is also illustrated by KC204/012 of 4 November 2013: a return to the institution did not meet the requirements of the Pm. The complaint was upheld and compensation was awarded.

ISD for foreign nationals

Since 1 July 2009, ISD can also be imposed on foreign nationals who have no lawful residence under Article 8 of the Aliens Act 2000 (Vreemdelingenwet 2000) and who cannot be deported, or are difficult to deport.

For this group, the measure consists solely of staying inside the institution, because ordinary community services are not available to them. Article 4 RTVI rules out leave where a person has been declared an undesirable foreign national or where it is certain that deportation will follow detention. Incidental leave may nevertheless be possible in certain circumstances.

Complaints and interim review

A missing or empty residence plan

A plan must have substance. In KC2010/001 of 5 January 2010, a document had been drawn up within 28 days, but a substantive plan was not produced until four months had passed. The complaint was upheld and €50 in compensation was awarded.

In KC2016/033 of 1 May 2016, the absence of a residence plan, treatment or programme also led to the complaint being upheld and €50 in compensation. By contrast, in KC2013/009 of 1 February 2013, the plan had been drawn up within four weeks and there was no evidence of insufficiently prompt action. That complaint was dismissed.

Asking the court to assess whether the measure needs to continue

From six months after the start, you can ask the court whether the measure should continue (Article 6:6:14 Sv). Among other things, the court assesses:

• the course of treatment and the care taken in carrying out the measure;
• whether the measure still serves its purpose;
• the risks to safety and the risks of drug-related nuisance and deterioration in the local environment if the measure ends;
• circumstances beyond your control that mean continuing the measure is no longer worthwhile.

This assessment was explained in more detail by, among others, the Arnhem Court of Appeal on 18 July 2007, LJN BB3016. The request must be submitted to the district court that had jurisdiction at first instance, even if the court of appeal imposed ISD (Supreme Court, 18 November 2008, NJ 2009, 292).

Early termination is not readily granted: protecting society can, on its own, justify continuing the measure. Complaints about the course, content, effectiveness and careful delivery of treatment belong in this review procedure, rather than in the formal complaints procedure (beklag) under Article 60 Pbw. This follows from decisions by the Council for the Administration of Criminal Justice and Protection of Juveniles (RSJ) of 20 October 2017, cases 16/4169/GA and 17/0672/GA. A complaint about a missing plan must therefore be distinguished from an assessment of the treatment as a whole.

End of the measure and aftercare

ISD ends automatically once the imposed period has elapsed. The Minister of Justice and Security may also end the measure early, after receiving advice from the director (Article 6:2:20 Sv).

If a new crime is committed after the measure ends, ISD may be requested and imposed again. Previous convictions may count again for this purpose.

Aftercare focuses on identity documents, income, debts, housing and care. The institution discusses these matters with the municipality, the probation service and other organisations. A shortage of suitable accommodation can make returning to society more difficult. Living somewhere where drugs are used can increase the risk of reoffending.

Once it has ended, the ISD measure itself no longer provides a basis in criminal law for requiring cooperation with, for example, probation supervision.

What does this mean for you?

Ask about your residence plan at the start and discuss with the programme coordinator what support and steps towards living outside the institution are planned. A document produced on time but without concrete content is not enough.

Bear in mind that leave and progression depend on an individual assessment: motivation and progress are taken into account, but do not automatically entitle you to greater freedoms. Before moving outside the institution, discuss which general and special conditions apply.

If problems arise, choosing the right procedure is crucial. A missing plan or the director’s actions when returning you to the institution may be grounds for a formal complaint (beklag). The question of whether continuing ISD is still necessary and worthwhile belongs in the court’s interim review. Keep your plans and decisions, and discuss with your lawyer which route is appropriate.

Raise housing, income and follow-up care during the programme. This allows you and your family, together with the support workers involved, to keep track of what needs to be arranged for when the measure ends.

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