Faced with overcrowding in Belgian prisons, the prison administration has decided to extend without limit the prison leave of several hundred prisoners.
Belgium today has 12,800 prisoners for only 11,000 places in prison, an overpopulation rate which now exceeds 15%, compared to 11% in 2018.
This situation leads to undignified conditions of detention: nearly 200 prisoners are forced to sleep on the floor.
The prison administration, overwhelmed, took radical measures. Since March, one in 20 prisoners have benefited from early release or extended prison leave.
But these measures only concern certain profiles, deemed the least dangerous.
Total saturation
Grégory Wallez, federal secretary of the CCSP Prison, does not hide his concern: “In my 30 years of career, I have never experienced such a situation. Here, really, we are at the point of saturation. We no longer know what to do within the establishments.”
In my 30 years of career, I have never experienced such a situation
In an attempt to relieve prison congestion, the Minister of Justice decided, six months ago, to extend certain prison leaves, making it possible to temporarily free up places.
But according to Grégory Wallez, this strategy shows its limits: “It doesn’t change much because these are returning detainees. We have to find other solutions on the end of sentences or on preventive detention. But here, we have to debate with the judiciary and it becomes more complicated” .
Early deliberation
In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, exceptional measures had already been put in place to limit prison overcrowding.
Vincent Van Quickenborne, ancien minister de la Justice, explique: “We proposed to extend the measures that we took during the Corona period, that is to say a possibility of early deliberation of six months before the end of the sentence. In this case, it is the local director who decides.”
However, these one-off initiatives were not enough to stem the crisis. Despite the inauguration of Haaren Prison two years ago, adding 1,200 places, the problem persists.
Hopes of eradicating prison overcrowding are fading as prisons continue to fill up.
Brussels prison prison overcrowding Belgian justice haren prison
