A new computer system has enabled the police to pick up 585 people who have so far avoided spending time in jail, the AD said on Tuesday.

In the Dutch legal system, suspects are not required to turn up in court and so cannot be locked up immediately they are found guilty. Others are given a later date to report to prison.

This means thousands of people who should have served time have avoided going to prison. Their details are included in various different registers, making it hard to police to check up on.

The new computer system combines these registers into one, so that police can easily check if someone has outstanding jail time.

Over 10,000 people are currently on the list. Most of those picked up by the police had short sentences ahead of them and a special police unit focuses on people who have longer sentences for serious crimes. Last year that team made 126 arrests.