Preparations to commit a crime The Dutch approach to inchoate offences

In combating (organised) crime and terrorism, the emphasis is not placed on responding to committed offences, but on the thwarting thereof. For that reason, criminal law includes inchoate offences, which permit law enforcement intervention before the intended substantive offence is completed. In the last few years, inchoate offences have been expanded in most countries, partly because of national developments, partly in order to comply with agreements made in the EU or UN context. That is also the case for the Netherlands. The aim of this article is to provide a clear picture of the Dutch approach to inchoate crime and the Dutch way of dealing with the current tendencies to approximate substantive criminal law.