The Belgian prison administration admitted on Tuesday that staff shortages are causing severe issues at Saint-Gilles Prison. However, they refuted claims from the inmates' relatives that the recent opening of a new prison in Haren has led to the worsening of conditions for detainees in Saint-Gilles.
On Saturday, family members of prison detainees criticised the 'deplorable' living conditions of their relatives in Saint-Gilles which "have further deteriorated recently" with the recent opening of the Haren prison "despite a lack of staff.”
In their view, the blame had to be laid on Belgium's Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne's door, who they accuse of having opened the new prison too quickly “despite the foreseeable consequences that would fall on the inmates.”
In response, the Belgian prison administration acknowledges that there are staff shortages in the Saint-Gilles Prison but tried as they could to defend their management of these facilities.
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Firstly, they explained that the prison had to contend with a daily average of 50 to 70 sick staff members. They have attempted to address this issue by recruiting 50 people to the prison service during the festive period, with another recruitment campaign to be carried out in 2023.
Furthermore, the administration also chose to defend their record in dealing with overcrowding in the Saint-Gilles Prison, which they had come under fire for.
According to their figures, the prison population had decreased by about 100 inmates in one month. This also led them to refute claims that there had been mattresses on the floor of Saint-Gilles prison.
In any case, the prison administration will eventually have to transfer all of the inmates of Saint-Gilles Prison to Haren, with 264 detainees for a total of 1,190 inmates having already been moved.
