UTRECHT, 09/09/09 - Moroccan youths in prison are better integrated with Dutch society than other Moroccan youngsters. The conclusion comes from two young researchers at the University of Utrecht.

Criminal Moroccan youths speak Arabic or Berber with their family and friends less often than the average Moroccan youngster. Their parents use the Dutch language more often and are also more likely to have Dutch friends. The criminal Moroccans themselves are about twice as likely to feel Dutch as Moroccans outside prison, according to the sociologists.

In the research project, 141 Moroccan youths and 158 white Dutch youths aged 12 to 18 in pre-trial custody were interviewed, as well as their parents. About 300 youths from both ethnic groups who were not in prison were also interviewed.

According to justice ministry statistics, Moroccan youths are five times more criminal than white Dutch youngsters. They also re-offend more often. But the Utrecht researchers say that the crimes in which the Dutch youths are suspects are on average more serious.

The Moroccan youngsters in custody were mostly (80 percent) suspects of robbery with or without violence, such as bag-snatching or hold-ups. This was 45 percent among their white Dutch peers, who had a relatively higher score on arson and sexual assault, which are seen as more serious crimes.

According to the researchers, Moroccan crime suspects more often say they feel discriminated against than the average Moroccan youngster. "I will now do follow-up research on the question: What does it do to youths, if they are discriminated against?" said one of the sociologists, Gonneke Stevens.

Nearly all judicial youth institutions participated in the research. Stevens found it remarkable that the Moroccan parents were more willing to participate in the survey than the Dutch.