Belgium to Add 1,300 Prison Spaces Amid Overcrowding Crisis

Belgium's government aims to alleviate severe prison overcrowding by establishing 1,300 additional places. The country's correctional facilities currently house approximately 13,000 inmates within a capacity of around 11,000, leading to significant strain. This initiative seeks to reduce the number of individuals sleeping on the floor, a situation that recently reached a record high of 763 people.

The expansion plan involves a multi-pronged approach. New construction will form part of the solution, but the government also intends to utilize existing detention and transition houses. Furthermore, modular units will be deployed near current prison sites to quickly increase capacity. This strategy aims to address the immediate crisis of overpopulation.

However, Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt acknowledges that simply building more prisons is not a sustainable long-term fix. "We have more prison places than ever before. Yet, prison overcrowding is also reaching new heights," she stated, pointing to what she termed an "extension of the prison net." She expressed skepticism that new facilities would remain empty for long, predicting that "if we built six new prisons tomorrow, they would already be full the day after tomorrow."

Given these concerns, the minister is emphasizing alternative strategies. These include the increased application of different types of sentences and a significant reinforcement of prison staff. The focus is shifting towards managing the prison population more effectively through a combination of infrastructure improvements and policy changes, rather than relying solely on increased incarceration capacity.

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We have more prison places than ever before. Yet, prison overcrowding is also reaching new heights. There is therefore clearly an 'extension of the prison net'. I am convinced that if we built six new prisons tomorrow, they would already be full the day after tomorrow.