The Ministry of Justice and Security has decided to re-use the Youth Care Plus location in Harreveld (municipality of Oost Gelre) as a Judicial Youth Institution (JJI) again. This is expected to provide phased extra capacity for the placement and guidance of young people under juvenile criminal law within 18 to 24 months. This depends, among other things, on the progress of the renovation and recruitment of staff.
The Judicial Institutions Service (DJI) will work on making the location suitable for use as a JJI in the coming period. Minister of Justice and Security, David van Weel: “With the new location, about 70 places will be available. This will largely solve the shortage of JJI places. Young adults who are currently forced to stay in a regular prison can soon return to a JJI. This will also free up cells for other convicts.”
The location in Harreveld has previously been used as a JJI and is therefore well-suited for this purpose, especially since there are educational facilities on the premises. The decision also allows for the retention of staff during the transition from closed youth care to JJI.
In addition to its use as a JJI, there is still a possibility that part of the location can be designated as a national top clinical treatment facility for youth care in a criminal law context. The outcome of that exploration will be announced soon.
The letter to the House of Representatives will be available this afternoon on the site.