Little research exists on what works in the supervision of offenders with debt problems. This qualitative study aims to provide insight into the barriers probation officers and clients experience during supervision regarding debt and the support that clients need. Interviews were conducted with 33 Dutch probation officers and 16 clients. The results show that debt often negatively influences clients’ lives and hinders their resocialization. Probation officers lack effective methods to support clients with debt problems. To adequately help clients with debt problems, probation officers should obtain more knowledge about effective interventions and collaborate more closely with debt specialists from the probation supervision outset.
In dit artikel beschrijven we eerst op grond van de literatuur de achtergrond van de relatie tussen financiële problematiek en delictgedrag. Vervolgens beschrijven we ons dossieronderzoek, met als doel inzicht te creëren in de wisselwerking tussen mogelijke onderliggende risicofactoren in de relatie tussen financiële problematiek en delictgedrag. Daarnaast geven we op grond van interviews met zowel professionals als cliënten weer welke belemmeringen worden ervaren in de begeleiding van cliënten ten aanzien van financiën en wat zij hierin nodig hebben. Deze inzichten in de relatie tussen schulden en delictgedrag, mogelijke onderliggende risicofactoren en de ondersteuning die cliënten hierbij nodig hebben, kunnen concrete handvatten bieden aan professionals om cliënten adequaat te begeleiden bij financiële problematiek.
The relationship between socioeconomic factors and crime is a classic theme in criminological literature. However, the relationship between debt and crime is still unclear, and little is known about the causality of this relationship and the factors that influence it. In addition, effective interventions and guidelines to adequately support offenders with debt are limited. Therefore, this thesis aims to systematically gain more insight into the factors that influence the relationship between debt and crime among probation clients and to contribute to developing tools that probation officers and other forensic social professionals can use to support clients with debt adequately. The relationship between debt and crime was studied by (1) a systematic and scoping literature review (5 studies were included in the systematic review and 24 studies in the scoping review), (2) a client file study including risk assessment data of a sample of 250 Dutch probation clients, (3) a quantitative study including recidivism data of the same sample of 250 Dutch probation clients, (4) interviews with 33 Dutch probation officers and 16 clients, and (5) a multiple case study focusing on working elements in the supervision of individual offenders (5 cases). The results show that debt is prevalent among probation clients, hinders resocialization, and increases recidivism risk. Debt and crime are not only related directly but are also related by a complex interplay of problems in different life domains, such as problems regarding childhood, education and work, and mental and physical health. Notwithstanding the strong relationship between debt and crime, financial assistance for probation clients with debts is limited. As debt is strongly related to problems in other life domains, a systematic collaboration between professionals of different disciplines is necessary to support clients with debt adequately.
