The number of inmates sleeping on the floor in Flemish prisons is on the rise, the General Directorate of Penitentiary Establishments (EPI) announced on Wednesday.
Levels of overcrowding in Belgian prisons have been critical for many years. According to statistics published by the Council of Europe, Belgian prisons are the fourth most crowded in Europe. As of 25 July, 11,569 prisoners were held in a system designed for just 10.418.
This inevitably leads to a shortage of suitable spaces for prisoners – with overcrowding being most severely felt in Flanders.
According to statistics published by the Federal Government, 167 prisoners currently do not have a bed in the cell where they are housed. In June, this number was just 97. Most of those sleeping on the floor are in penitentiaries in Flanders.
"Overcrowding is a reality throughout the country, but it manifests itself differently in the south of the country, where detainees rarely sleep on the ground," a spokesperson for the prison administration told the Belga news agency.
Building capacity
Belgium is desperately working to increase the availability of prison places. Since January 2022, Belgium’s prison system has increased its capacity by nearly 7%.
In July, a new detention centre with 57 places is set to be opened in the Brussels municipality of Forest. By the end of the year, another 120 new places should open at the former Dendermonde prison. Likewise, the renovation of the Ypres prison should also be completed by the end of the year, providing another 170 places.
Several other new detentions are planned for the end of the year. In Wallonia, authorities will open new prisons in Sugny and Bourg-Léopold. Planned works at the centres of forensic psychiatry (CPL) in Aalst and Paifve should also help to increase places for psychiatric patients, reducing the burden on Belgian prisons.
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Prison overcrowding is significantly aggravated by the high number of drug-related convictions in Belgium. After the Sky ECC drug trafficking operation, pre-trial detention increased significantly, with 128 individuals put behind bars.
In Belgium, nearly half of all prisoners (51%) are behind bars as a result of drug-related offences. In this regard, Belgium has one of the highest incarceration rates for drug crime, making it a hub for drug trafficking in Europe.
