Juvenile offenders released due to lack of detention space
.jpg)
Every week, young offenders accused of serious crimes are released without serving time because there is no room for them in closed youth institutions, De Standaard reports, citing figures from the public prosecutor’s offices in Brussels, East Flanders and Antwerp. While other prosecutor's offices have not provided specific data, they acknowledge the scale of the problem, according to the newspaper.
The issue came to the forefront this week when the East Flanders public prosecutor's office reported that two boys sent to a closed institution by a juvenile court judge were released immediately because no beds were available.
While the incident gained attention, inquiries with other prosecutors and judges confirm it is far from isolated.
Since September 2024, the Brussels public prosecutor’s office has registered 99 such “unwanted releases”, according to press magistrate Rym Kechiche. Prosecutor general Frédéric Van Leeuw also notes that 50 more minors who committed criminal offences are on a waiting list at the French-speaking EMA service, which is supposed to supervise them. Meanwhile, 120 juvenile cases remain stalled because judges refuse to issue rulings they know cannot be enforced.
In Dendermonde, eight juvenile court decisions have yet to be executed since 21 March due to a lack of space. Antwerp reports 12 such cases since the beginning of the year.
Flanders has three closed community institutions: De Zande, De Kempen and De Grubbe. Combined, they offer a total of 324 places. All placements are managed centrally via the CAP registration point, which allocates available beds across the various juvenile courts.
#FlandersNewsService | © PHOTO DANIEL KARMANN / DPA
Related news
