The prosecution service has been told it risks short-changing victims by issuing more fines, community work penalties and compensation orders during the pandemic.

National ombudsman Reinier Zutphen expressed his concerns in a letter to justice ministers Ferd Grapperhaus and Sander Dekker.

Prosecutors wanted to relieve the strain on the court system and save costs by issuing more summary penalties, but the practice risked shutting victims out of the process, Zutphen told NOS Radio 1.

‘We want to live in a country where justice is served and where victims can speak, so we need to make room for that,’ he said.’

Robin Fontijne of victim support service Slachtofferhulp Nederland said there was a trend towards deciding more serious cases without a court hearing, although the prosecution service (Openbare Ministerie) has no power to impose prison sentences.

In around one-sixth of 9940 cases this year that Slachtofferhulp was involved in, the OM opted not to prosecute the case in court, Fontijne told Trouw. ‘I even know of examples of serious sexual offences that the OM wanted to deal with by means of a settlement.’