In the search for alternative punishments to imprisonment and to curb the chronic overcrowding of Belgian prisons, Federal Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt wants to send inmates to work at sea for two years.
Belgium's prisons remain among the most overcrowded in Europe: they now hold more than 12,000 people despite there being just over 10,000 places. This has resulted in inhumane conditions and has damaged the rehabilitation process for people kept behind bars. The Justice Ministry has been working to increase capacity by opening new prisons and detention houses, which slightly reduced overcrowding.
Van Tigchelt wants to further reduce the number of people kept in Belgian prisons by making inmates work en masse. "On average, a detainee costs about €150 a day. This is a serious cost," he said. "Moreover, locking up convicts does not provide long-term security. Those who end up in prison have a 70% chance of relapsing into criminal acts."
He argued that this alternative punishment would put convicts back on the right path. "Work should become the starting point of a prison sentence. It is the best way to reintegrate, repay victims, get structure and build a life without crime," said Van Tigchelt.
Two years at sea
Van Tigchelt has proposed that inmates who are eligible for parole could work in 'bottleneck professions' (jobs for which employers are struggling to fill their vacancies). They would work under strict conditions or electronic monitoring through cooperation contracts with companies in need of additional staff, or in prison web shops, for example, where products made in prison are sold directly to consumers.
The Minister hopes that the development of a Penal Enforcement Code, which lays out how punishments can and should be completed, will encourage work to be an integral part of imprisonment. This should also set out how wages are divided among victim compensation, covering costs of staying in prison and paying outstanding debts and fines, as well as leaving some money so people can build a new life once out of prison.
He stressed that a limited group of people that must be removed from society for a time because of the acts they have committed should also work. "We should allow them to work at sea, away from society but still doing useful work," Van Tigchelt argued.
"If they have an outstanding two-year prison sentence, give them the choice to spend those two years working at sea. For example, in the dredging sector. Here, too, we can forge partnerships with the private sector."
It is likely organisations defending the rights of prisoners will denounce sending them out to sea. However, Van Tigchelt stressed that he is not vouching for prison boats and prisons on uninhabited islands.
"This doesn't benefit anyone. But the future of sentencing is mass employment and earning an honest living. Then inmates have built something, learned about work ethic, compensated victims and received structure. This is the best cure for crime. Moreover, it will cost society much less money and prisons will be less crowded."
