At least 1,900 Dutch detainees are detained abroad yearly. They are housed in foreign detention because they are accused of having committed a criminal offence in a country that is not their country of residence. This study used data regarding Dutch detainees who were supervised by the International Office of the Dutch Probation Service to examine detainees’ background characteristics and their offending behaviour after returning to the Netherlands. The findings show that 23% of the Dutch detainees reoffended within 2 years of release from foreign detention. Furthermore, several background characteristics, such as their age at release from foreign detention, are related to reoffending behaviour.

While at least 1900 Dutch prisoners are imprisoned abroad annually, existing knowledge on this group of prisoners is often limited to descriptions about detention conditions. The current study explores latent classes of criminal careers before entrance in foreign prisons and whether reoffending behavior differed between the distinct typologies of Dutch prisoners. Using registration and reconviction data, the results show four typologies: (a) high persistent offenders, (b) low-rate offenders, (c) sporadic offenders, and (d) long-term incarcerated offenders. Furthermore, the results indicate that high persistent offenders are more likely to get reconvicted after release from foreign prisons than other typologies.