Despite additional capacity, there is still almost 15 percent overcrowding in prisons

© BELGIUM

The number of places in Belgian prisons has increased in one year. But despite the additional capacity, there is still almost 15 percent overcrowding. A year earlier, overcrowding was even higher, according to figures from the Federal Public Service of Justice.

Source: BELGA

Saturday, March 2, 2024 at 2:16 PM

On March 1, there were 12,316 detainees for 10,743 places, which means there are 14.6 percent more detainees compared to the capacity. On March 1, 2023, there were still 11,402 detainees for 9,755 places, or an overcrowding of almost 17 percent.

On March 1 of this year, 250 detainees slept on mattresses on the floor in the north of the country, the Ministry of Justice reports. And to date, more than 281 additional beds have been added to prisons.

According to the Ministry of Justice, the increase in the number of detainees cannot be attributed to one cause. The government service mentions an interplay of various factors, which requires an extensive analysis.

In any case, the Prison Service has noted an increase in the duration of pre-trial detention, as well as a higher number of pronounced internments. The introduction of short sentences is also an important factor, it sounds. The authority over modalities such as electronic monitoring, limited detention and conditional release has been assigned to the sentencing judge.

“With regard to the composition of the prison population, we note an increase within all groups: internees, accused/suspects (in pre-trial detention) and definitively sentenced to sentences of up to 3 years and above 3 years,” the Ministry of Justice said.

“Recruiting and training is a challenge”

“The government has invested in additional capacity by building new prisons, keeping older infrastructure open for longer and small-scale forms of detention such as detention houses and transition houses. Investments are also being made in modernizing outdated infrastructure, but these initiatives are not keeping pace with population growth.”

Furthermore, it is said that recruitment and training of new workers, just like in other sectors, constitutes “a major challenge”, which delays the availability of capacity.

Today/Saturday it was announced that Hasselt prison is not accepting new detainees due to overcrowding. The action was started by the staff, the ACOD union reported. The day before, the socialist union had also submitted a strike notice for March 10 and 11 in front of the Antwerp prison. The association referred to various incidents due to overcrowding.