Belgian prisons are severely overcrowded, with 424 inmates forced to sleep on the floor and overcrowding reaching nearly 20% above maximum capacity.
Prison officers’ unions had an informal meeting with Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden on Tuesday, followed on Thursday by formal talks with the minister’s office, which yielded few immediate solutions, according to the unions.
Union spokesperson Robby De Kaey of ACOD Prisons criticised the lack of urgency. “They are talking about additional capacity in five years in Albania or Kosovo, but our people need solutions now,” he said.
The number of inmates sleeping on the floor in Belgian prisons has risen to a record 424, up from 300 in August. Currently, there are 285 temporary beds in use. The prison system houses 13,253 people, but its official capacity is only 11,098, resulting in an overcrowding rate of 19.4%.
ACOD highlighted that proposed measures address only a fraction of the problem. For example, planned container units would accommodate 120 detainees with mental health issues, but more than 1,000 such individuals are currently in prison. The unions also pointed to the overuse of pre-trial detention as a significant issue. “We need to work with the judiciary to reduce this number; otherwise, the implementation of sentences becomes unmanageable,” De Kaey stated.
He also criticised Minister Verlinden, urging her to address political leaders directly. “I asked her to look Tom Van Grieken, Bart De Wever, and Georges-Louis Bouchez in the eye. Our country has a basic law guaranteeing humane treatment in prison. Our staff are being forced to violate it every day,” he said.
ACOD warned of further action if no short-term solutions are presented by the end of October. “The staff cannot continue to bear this burden,” De Kaey concluded.
