Effectiveness of the Justice Diversion Halt-intervention

NCT06353204 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 3325
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,300
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

In the current study the effectiveness of the Dutch diversion measure Halt is investigated using a randomized controlled trial. Because of the thorough scientific substantiation of the intervention theory, it is hypothesized that receiving the Halt-intervention will lead to less recidivism in comparison to receiving no intervention.

Conditions

Criminal Recidivism; Delinquency; Antisocial Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Criminal Recidivism based on self-report

  Assessed using the items from the Youth Delinquency Survey.

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

• Criminal Recidivism based on official police records

  Assessed using official Dutch Police registration records.

  T3 (24 month follow up)

• Criminal Recidivism based on official judiciary records

  Assessed using official Dutch judicial records.

  T3 (24 month follow up)

• Truancy based on self-report

  Assessed using the items from the Youth Delinquency Survey.

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

Secondary Outcomes (15)

• Conventional beliefs

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

• Minimizing/mislabeling

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

• Social skills

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

• Taking responsibility for the consequences of behavior

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

• Correct wrongdoing

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

Other Outcomes (13)

• Mental health problems during the last six months

  T0 (baseline)

• Experienced problems

  T0 (baseline); T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

• Delinquent friends

  T0 (baseline; T1 (100 days follow up); T2 (12 month follow up)

Study Arms (2)

Experimental group: Halt-intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

The experimental group will receive the Halt-intervention.

Behavioral: Halt-intervention

Control group: No Halt-intervention

NO INTERVENTION

The control group will not receive the Halt-intervention, nor will they receive any other intervention or form of punishment.

Interventions

Halt-intervention BEHAVIORAL

The Halt-intervention is a Dutch extrajudicial, or diversion, measure for minors (aged 12-17) who committed a minor offence. The intervention can consist of conversations with the Halt-employee, working or learning assignments to learn from the mistakes made or to work on certain skills, such as social skills, and/or apologizing to the victim.

Experimental group: Halt-intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 12 Years - 18 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Juveniles who have been referred to Halt after committing a minor offence that is eligible for the Halt-intervention.
• Juveniles between the ages of 12 and 18.

You may not qualify if:

• Participants who do not speak Dutch or who do not speak Dutch fluently.
• Participants who have already participated in the study before.
• Participants who are participating in the following Halt-programs: 'Hack\_right', 'Respect Online' or 'Sport en Spel'.
• Participants of whom it is suspected that their are serious concerns for their safety.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en Datacentrum: lead
• Utrecht University: collaborator
• Leiden University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

WODC

The Hague, South Holland, 2500EH, Netherlands

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Recidivism; Antisocial Personality Disorder

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Criminal Behavior; Behavior; Personality Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• André M. van der Laan, Prod. Dr.

  Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en Datacentrum

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER GOV
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof. dr.

Model Details: A comparison between two groups will be made. One half of the participants will be randomly assigned to a group that receives the Halt-intervention, while the other group receives no Halt-intervention.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 12, 2024
• First Posted: April 9, 2024
• Study Start: February 1, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2027
• Last Updated: March 7, 2025

Record last verified: 2024-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

NL (1)