People carrying out a community service sentence will soon have to wear a bright orange safety vest, stamped with the slogan werkt voor de samenleving (working for society), under new justice ministry rules.

The vests are part of a new get tough approach from the probation service and public prosecution department, the Telegraaf reports. They have been used in trials in Amsterdam and The Hague and are now set to go nationwide.
Probation service director Sjef van Gennip told the paper community service is regarded as a soft touch. ‘Prison is seen as a tougher punishment,’ he said.
Nevertheless, many of the people sentenced to community service are not used to working or any form of discipline, he said. ‘Now they have to report to us early in the morning and are closely monitored,’ he said. ‘We think the rest of the Netherlands should be able to witness this as well.’

30,000 a year
According to Nos television, some 30,000 community service sentences are handed out in the Netherlands every year.
MPs have welcomed the plan to make it clear to the general public who is completing a community service programme, the Volkskrant reports on Monday.
Prison is viewed as a status symbol by some people, Labour MP Jeroen Recourt told the paper. ‘By contrast, carrying out a community service sentence in public is bad for their image,’ he said.