Minister Plans to Largely Abolish Prison Sentences "Most criminals in the Netherlands should be able to serve their sentence at home in the future. Justice Minister Hirsch Ballin is to introduce house arrest as a new main punishment...The measure is primarily intended to relieve the prisons. The Netherlands has been struggling for years with a shortage of cells..." Internal integration or disintegration? Perhaps it is best to view such news as an indication of discohesion: The state takes reacts by using coercion (attempt at integration) as social institutions defining a common morality (e.g., church, schools) and acceptable behaviour no longer have the influence they previously enjoyed. See also: 3,000 'freed early' to ease prison crowding