Public Safety and Law

In the Public Safety and Law research program, the main question is how we can achieve a safer society, starting from the local level. We will focus on actions and initiatives from both the (decentral) government as well as local society and how these initiatives relate to (local) democracy, local democratic rule of law and rules and regulations drawn up within.

We especially focus on what we call the ‘Robin Hoods’ of the local constitutional state. By this we mean citizens, but also civil servants or politicians that bend the rules or violate them because they believe this is justified by the means, mainly achieving a better and safer society.

The dominant perspective regarding Robin Hood is that he steals from the rich and gives to the poor. By doing so, he undermines the law and the authorities, but for a ‘noble cause’. Some of his contemporaries therefore see him as a hero, but for others he is a criminal. We see this ambiguity also with contemporary noble cause rule bending and breaking. Also ‘false Robin Hoods’, people who use the noble cause as a cover for non-acceptable and more egoistic behavior, fall within our attention.

Contact us

Public Safety and Law Research Group
PO Box 90116
4800 RA Breda
The Netherlands

Ms. Lisette Klaassen
+31 88 - 525 64 49
e.klaassen-smedema@avans.nl