Fewer ankle monitors for adults in Flanders, while pilot project for juveniles expands
Fewer convicts in Flanders got an ankle monitor in 2024, reports De Morgen on Monday, based on the latest annual report of the Flemish Agency for Justice and Enforcement. Meanwhile, the region is expanding a pilot project involving ankle monitors for juveniles.
According to the Flemish Agency for Justice and Enforcement, the number of adults in Flanders wearing ankle monitors fell sharply in 2024. For sentences of less than eight months, the number of ankle monitors fell from 3,208 to 1,344, and for sentences of less than three years, it dropped from 1,100 to 544.
This is a notable development, given the overcrowded prisons that Flanders is struggling with. "This contradiction is explained by the political choice to carry out sentences of less than three years in prison," says the agency.
Funding dispute
In March, it emerged that, as a result of this decision, 3,400 convicted criminals were free while awaiting a prison place. To monitor them, Flemish Justice minister Zuhal Demir wants to introduce an additional 4,000 ankle monitors. However, Demir has been clashing with the federal government over how to fund the project.
Demir wants the monitors to be funded through Belgium's Special Financing Act, which determines how regions can generate income to exercise their powers. During an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws last weekend, she criticised federal Justice minister Annelies Verlinden for supposedly refusing to do so.
On Sunday, Verlinden told VTM that this funding could only be provided through a special law requiring a two-thirds majority in parliament. "We want to find solutions, but changing laws with a two-thirds majority is parliament's responsibility, not mine," she said.
More monitors for minors
Despite the delays, the number of juvenile offenders wearing ankle monitors is expected to increase. In 2024, Flanders launched a pilot project to provide ankle monitors for minors aged 12 and over as an alternative to detention in a community centre.
The project involves monitoring convicted juveniles for three months while they are closely supervised and provided with meaningful daytime activities, such as school or hobbies. The hope is that this will reduce reoffending.
Last year, 28 young people received an ankle bracelet. According to the Justice Agency, the pilot project is going well. It is therefore expected that considerably more young people will be monitored in this way this year.
#FlandersNewsService | PHOTO © Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP
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