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In the international criminological literature the Netherlands is generally characterized as a tolerant, liberal country: permissive towards many vices, foreigner-friendly and blessed with a mild penal climate. Today this image is about as worn out as the odd postcard image of the Netherlands as the country of clogs, windmills and tulips. With this alleged tolerant past portrayed as a mistake, the Netherlands has over the last few years turned into a rather confused, intolerant and punitive country. In this article, the development of inclusive ideas about a local prevention of crime into a merely exclusive politics of public safety is analysed. By doing so, an attempt is made at answering the question: ‘How could the traditional sober-minded, research-led and Enlightened Dutch approach of crime control change so quickly?’

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Background. Transplant tourism is a phenomenon where patients travel abroad to purchase organs for transplants. This paper presents the results of a fieldwork study by describing the experiences of Dutch transplant professionals confronted by patients who allegedly purchased kidney transplants abroad. Second, it addresses the legal definition and prohibition of transplant tourism under national and international law. The final part addresses the legal implications of transplant tourism for patients and physicians. Methods. The study involved seventeen interviews among transplant physicians, transplant coordinators and policy-experts and a review of national and international legislation that prohibit transplant tourism. Results. All Dutch transplant centers are confronted with patients who undergo transplants abroad. The estimated total number is four per year. Transplant tourism is not explicitly defined under national and international law. While the purchase of organs is almost universally prohibited, transplant tourism is hardly punishable because national laws generally do not apply to crimes committed abroad. Moreover, the purchase of organs (abroad) is almost impossible to prove. Conclusions. Transplant tourism is a legally complex phenomenon that warrants closer research and dialogue. The legal rights and obligations of patients and physicians confronted with transplant tourism should be clarified.

This article relates the development of criminology to developments in crime and justice and to cultural and political changes in the Netherlands. Despite a long tradition, criminology's academic position has never been stable. After a period of immense popularity in the 1970s and a near demise in the 1980s, criminology became very popular again by the end of the 1990s. As far as research attention is concerned, there are ‘evergreens’ such as juvenile delinquency or drugs, but we also see the near disappearance of once popular themes such as (sociological analyses of) law enforcement or penality and the emergence of new themes such as organized crime and developmental criminology. The major challenge with respect to criminology's future is how to uphold scientific standards in a ‘market’ that demands a mere pragmatic ‘jobbing criminology’.