329 M.C.A. Liem and W.A. Pridemore (eds.), Handbook of European Homicide Research: Patterns, Explanations, and Country Studies, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-0466-8_21, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Introduction In the Netherlands, on average, 223 persons per year die in a homicide (Nieuwbeerta & Leistra, 2007). This chapter provides an overview of all 3,771 homicide cases that occurred in the period 1992–2009, by outlining the epidemiology of homicide and by describing the types of homi- cide and the characteristics of those involved. In doing so, a distinction is made between domestic homicides, homicides in the context of an argu- ment, criminal homicides, robbery homicides, and sexual homicides. In addition, this contribu- tion offers several explanations specific to the Netherlands for the recent decline in the rate of lethal violence (e.g., population size, societal dis- tribution, the use of firearms, unemployment rate, substance use, and detention policy). Finally, it presents an insight into policies and the general punishment of homicide in the Netherlands. Background The Netherlands is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, located in North-West Europe. The Netherlands is often referred to as Holland. This is rooted in the early history of the Netherlands – nowadays, North and South Holland are only two of its 12 provinces. The population (approximately 16.5 million) consists mostly of ethnic Dutch inhabitants. Predominant ethnic groups include Turkish (2.0%), Surinamese (1.9%), Moroccan (1.7%), and Dutch Antillean (0.7%) groups (CBS, 2010b). 1 The life expec- tancy for girls born in the Netherlands is approxi- mately 82 years, for boys approximately 78 years. In spite of the aging population, mortality rates show an annual decline in the last 5 years (CBS, 2010a). According to recent figures, approxi- mately 99% of the population is literate (CIA, 2009). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in the Netherlands is estimated to be 41%, of which alcohol dependence accounts for 6% and drug dependence for 2% (Bijl, Ravelli, & van Zessen, 1998). In the Netherlands, firearm legislation is restricted and hence, firearm possession relatively low compared to other Western countries (around 5% of all households) (Van Dijk, Van Kesteren, & Smit, 2007). Previous Studies on Homicide Systematic research on homicide in the Netherlands is relatively limited. However, the few studies that focused on long-term trends in homicide indicate some important developments. Spierenburg, for example, who studied long-term homicide trends M.C.A Liem ( ) Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands e-mail: m.c.a.liem@law.leidenuniv.nl Homicide in the Netherlands 21 Soenita M. Ganpat and Marieke C.A. Liem 1 Someone is regarded as having a non-Dutch ethnicity when either one or both parents are born outside the Netherlands.