Netherlands Criminal Law: Reporting, Sentencing and Weapons

Criminal law in the Netherlands is national. The same Wetboek van Strafrecht (Sr), the criminal code, and Wetboek van Strafvordering (Sv), the code of criminal procedure, apply in every municipality and province, so the core rules do not change from one part of the country to another. Both codes are published in full on wetten.overheid.nl.

This section is a guide to the criminal-law topics covered on Recording Law. It routes to focused pages on reporting a crime, community-service sentencing, and the rules on knives, and it links back to the main Netherlands law hub. Each summary below points to the full page.

Information last verified on 22 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Netherlands law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

Filing a police report: aangifte, melding and klacht

An aangifte is a formal report of a criminal offence to the police (artikel 161 Sv); a melding is only a notification, after which the police usually start no investigation; and a klacht is an aangifte together with an express request to prosecute (artikel 164 Sv), which is required for a klachtdelict such as criminal defamation (smaad or laster). Choosing the right act matters, because for a klachtdelict a plain report is not enough.

Filing an aangifte does not oblige the Openbaar Ministerie to prosecute: under the opportuniteitsbeginsel of artikel 167 Sv, the OM may decline to prosecute on grounds of the general interest. If it declines, a directly interested party can lodge a beklag with the gerechtshof under artikel 12 Sv. The full guide, including how and where to file and what happens next, is on filing a police report.

Community service: the taakstraf

A taakstraf (community service) consists of unpaid work and may last no more than 240 hours (artikel 22c Sr); if it is not completed, the court-ordered vervangende hechtenis applies, at no more than one day for every two hours of unworked community service (artikel 22d Sr). It is a main penalty in its own right, not merely an add-on to a fine or a prison sentence.

There are limits on when it can be used. For the most serious offences it cannot stand on its own, and the court may add it only alongside an unconditional custodial sentence, a restriction known as the taakstrafverbod. The detail, including the exact scope of that restriction and how substitute detention is calculated, is on community service.

Knife law: the Wet wapens en munitie

Stiletto's, valmessen and vlindermessen, and folding knives that are double-edged or longer than 28 centimetres when open, are prohibited weapons (Category I) that may not even be possessed (artikel 2 and artikel 13 Wet wapens en munitie); other edged weapons in Category IV may be owned but not carried in public (artikel 27 Wet wapens en munitie). Whether an everyday knife counts as a weapon can depend on the object and the circumstances in which it is carried.

National legislation to ban the carrying of ordinary knives in public, or their sale to minors, has been proposed but is not yet in force. In the meantime a voluntary retail standard limits sales to buyers aged 18 and over, and some municipalities set knife-ban zones through their local by-law (the Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening, or APV). The full picture, including the penalties and where knife-ban zones come from, is on knife law.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Netherlands criminal law cover on this site?

This section covers reporting a crime to the police (aangifte doen), community-service sentencing (taakstraf), and the rules on knives under the Wet wapens en munitie. Each topic has its own detailed page, and this section links to all three.

Is criminal law the same everywhere in the Netherlands?

Yes for the core rules. The Wetboek van Strafrecht and the Wetboek van Strafvordering are national and apply the same way in every municipality and province. Local ordinances (an APV) can add limited local rules, such as knife-ban zones, but the criminal codes themselves do not vary by region.

Which page explains how to report a crime to the Dutch police?

Reporting a crime is covered in full on the filing a police report page in this section. It sets out the difference between an aangifte, a melding and a klacht, who may file, how to file online or in person, and what the prosecutor does with a report.

Where can I read about the prosecution decision and how to challenge it?

The filing a police report page explains that the Openbaar Ministerie has discretion not to prosecute and that a directly interested party can bring a beklag before the gerechtshof. Community-service sentencing is on the community service page.

Which page covers community-service sentencing?

The community service page sets out how the taakstraf works, including its statutory maximum, the offences for which it may not stand alone (the taakstrafverbod), and the substitute detention that applies if the work is not completed.

Which page covers the Dutch knife rules?

The knife law page sets out the Wet wapens en munitie categories, which knives are banned outright and which may be owned but not carried, the penalties, local knife-ban zones, and the status of the proposed national ban.