Gemeinschaftsdéngscht (Taakstraf): Reegelen, Fristen a Konversioun

A community service order (taakstraf) is unpaid work imposed as a principal sentence under Article 22c of the Dutch Criminal Code (Sr), with a maximum of 240 hours. A court imposes it after a hearing; the public prosecutor can impose up to 180 hours in a penalty order (strafbeschikking) under Article 257a Sv, but not for the serious violent and sexual offences excluded by Article 22b Sr.

You must complete the work within eighteen months after the judgment becomes final, or within nine months for a penalty order (Article 6:3:1 Sv). If you do not perform it properly, the public prosecutor converts the remaining hours into substitute detention (vervangende hechtenis); you can object to that decision within fourteen days.

What is a community service order?

Dutch criminal law has three principal sentences: imprisonment, the community service order and the fine. Under Article 22c Sr the judgment or penalty order states the number of hours and may describe the type of work; the maximum is 240 hours.

The work takes place at non-profit organisations, such as municipalities, care homes, hospitals and sports clubs. It is unpaid and done in your own time, outside working hours. Where practical, the probation service (reclassering) connects the work to the offence.

A taakstraf is often combined with other sanctions: a suspended prison sentence, a driving ban, a compensation measure for the victim or a fine. Juveniles fall under a separate regime with lower maximums; this article covers adult criminal law. Our Hollännesch Guiden fir Strofrecht give the wider picture of sentencing and procedure.

Who can impose community service?

A criminal court can impose up to 240 hours after a hearing. The public prosecutor can impose up to 180 hours without a hearing, in a penalty order for a minor offence or a crime carrying a maximum of six years’ imprisonment or less (Article 257a(1) and (2) Sv).

A penalty order is not a court conviction, but if you simply carry out the work, you lose the chance to contest the case. Under Article 257e Sv you can file an objection (verzet) within fourteen days after the order was handed to you in person or otherwise became known to you. The case then goes to the criminal court.

When can community service not be imposed?

Article 22b Sr contains the community service ban (taakstrafverbod). It applies to a crime carrying six years’ imprisonment or more that caused a serious infringement of the victim’s physical integrity, and to the offences in Articles 181, 252 and 253 Sr.

Under Article 22b(2) Sr the ban also applies if you received a community service order for a similar crime in the five years before the new offence and performed it, or had it converted into substitute detention. Under Article 22b(3) Sr the court may deviate from both bans if it also imposes an unconditional prison sentence or custodial measure. In practice the court then combines community service with a short unconditional prison term, often equal to the time already spent in pre-trial detention.

What happens between the judgment and the first working day?

Enforcement only starts once the judgment is final. In most cases you can appeal within fourteen days after the final judgment (Article 408 Sv); an appeal suspends enforcement.

Once the judgment is final, the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB) passes the file to the probation service, which invites you for an intake. Three organisations do this work: Reclassering Nederland, the probation service of the Salvation Army and the probation service for addiction care (SVG). At the intake the officer records your working hours, studies, care duties and medical limitations, and selects a placement.

You cannot choose the organisation yourself, but your preferences count. Mention shift work, a chronic condition or childcare at the intake: adjusting the schedule at the start is easy, while an absence that has already happened must be justified afterwards. The intake ends with written agreements on the rules and the schedule.

How long do you have to complete the hours?

Under Article 6:3:1(1) Sv you have eighteen months after the judgment becomes final, or nine months after a penalty order becomes final. Delay in arranging the placement does not extend that period.

Under Article 6:3:1(2) Sv the period is extended by the time you are lawfully deprived of your liberty and by the time you are absent without permission. Staying away therefore does not run the clock down; it is recorded. Your employer does not have to give you leave and is not entitled to know why you need time off; the work is planned in your own time.

Which rules apply during the placement?

You must turn up on the agreed days, arrive on time, follow the instructions of the work supervisor and report any absence before the shift starts. The supervisor registers your hours and reports to the probation service.

Illness is not a breach if you report it correctly and, where asked, provide a medical statement. Problems arise when you simply do not turn up and explain afterwards. A first serious lapse usually leads to a warning; repeated lapses lead to the order being reported as not properly performed and the file going back to the public prosecutor.

When is community service converted into detention?

When a court imposes community service, it must also order substitute detention under Article 22d Sr in case the work is not performed properly. That detention is at least one day and at most four months, with no more than one day for every two hours; a 240-hour order therefore carries at most 120 days.

Under Article 6:3:3(1) Sv the public prosecutor applies the substitute detention if you do not start, do not cooperate in establishing your identity, or do not perform the work properly. The exception is when exceptional circumstances that arose after the sentence would make detention grossly unfair. Under Article 6:3:3(2) Sv hours already worked reduce the detention proportionally.

How do you object to the conversion?

Under Article 6:6:23 Sv you can file a written objection (bezwaarschrift) with the court within fourteen days after the conversion decision is served on you. A late objection is normally declared inadmissible, and the detention then follows.

The objection explains why the hours were not performed and what has changed since. Arguments that can work include illness supported by medical evidence, a hospital admission, a sudden change in shift pattern, a placement that was never realistic, or new care duties. Under Article 6:6:23(2) Sv the court can change the decision and, if it upholds the objection, set the number of hours still to be worked and a new deadline. Keep working the hours if the placement still stands: a record of current performance is the strongest support for an objection.

What are the consequences for your criminal record and VOG?

A community service order is registered in the judicial documentation system, whether it was imposed by a court or in a penalty order. The registration is not public, but Justis consults it when you apply for a certificate of good conduct (Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag, VOG).

A registration does not automatically mean a refusal. Justis assesses whether the offence, if repeated, would be a risk for the specific job, and looks back over a period that depends on the screening profile. If Justis intends to refuse, you can give your view, and you can object to a refusal. See our article on de VOG fir Internationaler. A conviction can also affect a residence permit or a professional licence; raise this with your lawyer before the hearing.

How do you avoid conversion into detention?

Most conversions follow the same pattern. Avoid these five mistakes, each of which can end your placement within the eighteen-month period of Article 6:3:1 Sv:

• Missing a day without reporting it in advance.
• Not responding to the probation service when work or family circumstances change, instead of asking to adjust the schedule.
• Postponing the intake: it does not extend the deadline.
• Not passing on a new address: a conversion decision served at your old address still starts the fourteen-day objection period.
• Treating the conversion decision as final instead of objecting within fourteen days.

What can we do for you with a community service order?

eis kriminellen Affekote assist you before the hearing, during the placement and after a conversion decision.

• We assess whether Article 22b Sr stands in the way of community service in your case.
• We prepare the arguments and documents for community service at the hearing: employment, care duties, treatment and compensation paid.
• We review a penalty order and file an objection (verzet) within fourteen days where you dispute it.
• We correspond with the probation service and the public prosecutor when your schedule needs to change.
• We draft and file a reasoned objection against conversion into substitute detention within the fourteen-day period.

Resumé

• A community service order is unpaid work of up to 240 hours (Article 22c Sr); the public prosecutor can impose up to 180 hours.
• Article 22b Sr bans community service for serious violent offences and repeat offences, unless an unconditional prison sentence is also imposed.
• You must finish within eighteen months after a judgment or nine months after a penalty order (Article 6:3:1 Sv).
• Hours not performed are converted into substitute detention: one day per two hours, at most four months.
• You can object to the conversion within fourteen days under Article 6:6:23 Sv.

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