You will be considered a victim of crime if you have suffered damage, e.g. you have been injured or your property has been damaged or stolen, etc., as a result of an incident, which constitutes a crime according to national law. Both juridical and natural persons can be victims. As a victim of crime, from January 1, 2011, the criminal procedural law grants you certain individual rights before, during and after court proceedings (trial). Until January 2011 the rights of the victim are described in an instruction of the Board of the Procurators-General.
Criminal proceedings in the Netherlands includes investigation and trial. During the investigation the police under the supervision of the public prosecutor investigate the case to find the offender and collect evidence. If there is sufficient proof that the alleged offender has committed the crime the public prosecutor may impose him/her a sanction or bring the case to court for trial. The court, after examining the collected evidence, decides whether the offender is guilty and convicts or acquits him/her.