Justice minister considers hiring private security guards to tackle prison staff shortage
Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden is considering deploying private security guards in overcrowded prisons to compensate for the acute staff shortage, Het Nieuwsblad reports.
These private guards would carry out “contactless security tasks” in prisons, she told the Justice Committee. According to unions ACOD and ACV, this includes reception and observation functions, such as monitoring images from security cameras.
The unions oppose the plan, which they believe is legally impossible and would create unsafe situations. They also point to the high staff turnover at private security companies.
The imminent opening of a new prison in Antwerp is a further cause for concern, as additional staff will be needed. Verlinden is considering adapting the entry requirements to be allowed to perform certain jobs in prison, including lowering the educational level required and removing the need for candidates to be Belgian nationals.
“In practice, however, this will never involve large numbers of people,” the ACOD union told De Standaard. “Verlinden would do better to significantly improve the status and attractiveness of the job of prison officer, rather than expecting much benefit from these half-measures.”
Verlinden’s office says the measures being explored should help to ensure that the government’s ambition to create additional prison capacity during this legislative period can be realised.
“That means not only extra infrastructure, but also the necessary staff,” a spokesperson said. “And we will always pay attention to the quality of the profiles we want to recruit for our prisons.”
Illustration © BELGA PHOTO SARAH VAN HECKE
Related news
