{"id":7342,"date":"2021-06-07T16:49:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-07T16:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/?p=7342"},"modified":"2021-06-07T16:49:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T16:49:14","slug":"curious-words-in-dutch-10-veelpleger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/dutch\/curious-words-in-dutch-10-veelpleger\/","title":{"rendered":"Curious Words in Dutch 10: Veelpleger"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes we do bad stuff. And sometimes we do stuff that lands us in\u00a0de gevangenis\u00a0<\/em>(jail). Well, maybe not. But some people are so good at it, that they become a\u00a0veelpleger <\/em>(frequent offender).\u00a0Or zeer actieve veelpleger <\/em>(very active frequent offender).\u00a0Or draaideurcrimineel\u00a0<\/em>(“revolving door criminal”)! What do these curious words mean, exactly?<\/p>\n

Previous posts in this series:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Curious Words In Dutch<\/a><\/p>\n

What is a\u00a0veelpleger<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"Curious<\/a>

Photo by Tim H\u00fcfner<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

A\u00a0veelpleger\u00a0<\/em>is a frequent offender<\/strong>. So somebody that commits crimes multiple times. However, it is not just stealing from a jewelry store twice that makes you a veelpleger<\/em>. If at least 10 processen-verbaal <\/em>(criminal reports) are drawn up against you in your entire criminal career, one of which happened in the past year, you are a veelpleger<\/em>.1<\/a><\/sup>https:\/\/www.om.nl\/onderwerpen\/beleidsregels\/richtlijnen-voor-strafvordering-resultaten\/richtlijn-voor-strafvordering-bij-meerderjarige-veelplegers-2013r017<\/span> But sure, you could still be a career criminal either way.<\/p>\n

But there are more classifications! You become a\u00a0zeer actieve veelpleger<\/em> (very active frequent offender) when all 10 processen-verbaal\u00a0<\/em>happened in the past 5 years, with at least one that happened in the past twelve months.<\/p>\n

Why is somebody called a\u00a0veelpleger<\/strong>?\u00a0The translation for offender is\u00a0dader<\/em>, for criminal it’s\u00a0crimineel<\/em> – so where does\u00a0pleger\u00a0<\/em>come from?<\/p>\n

This comes from the verb that the Dutch use to say “to commit a crime” –\u00a0een misdrijf plegen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Plegen\u00a0<\/em>is the verb here. The noun\u00a0pleger\u00a0<\/em>describes somebody that commits – so\u00a0veelpleger<\/em> would directly translate to “frequent committer”.<\/p>\n

So what’s a\u00a0draaideurcrimineel<\/em>?<\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"curious<\/a>

Photo by Artem Sapegin<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

When you see the official definitions given for\u00a0veelpleger<\/em>, you’d think that a\u00a0draaideurcrimineel\u00a0<\/em>is a sensationalist media term used to refer to\u00a0veelplegers<\/em>. But that isn’t quite right. There actually is a real difference between the two!<\/p>\n

What’s interesting about a\u00a0veelpleger\u00a0<\/em>is that a\u00a0proces-verbaal\u00a0<\/em>can be drawn up against you, but it doesn’t mean you need to be\u00a0veroordeeld\u00a0<\/em>(convicted) to be one. A\u00a0draaideurcrimineel\u00a0<\/em>does!<\/p>\n

And of course, when you have more than 10\u00a0processen-verbaal\u00a0<\/em>against you, there’s a good chance that at least one of those lead to a\u00a0veroordeling\u00a0<\/em>(conviction). So the difference really is more technical than practical.<\/p>\n

The word\u00a0draaideurcrimineel\u00a0<\/em>comes from the idea that you leave the\u00a0gevangenis\u00a0<\/em>or\u00a0politiebureau\u00a0<\/em>(police station) and go right back in, just like you could with a\u00a0draaideur<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So these words have specific definitions related to them. Other words that are often seen as synonyms are\u00a0meerpleger\u00a0<\/em>(“multiple committer”) and – like English –\u00a0carri\u00e8recrimineel\u00a0<\/em>(career criminal). There is also the technical term\u00a0recidivist <\/em>(recidivist).<\/p>\n

What are these words in your language? Does your language have special words for people that commit many crimes? Let me know in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n