Prison overcrowding: number of inmates sleeping on floors falls, but crisis remains acute
Despite an official capacity of 10,795 places, Belgian prisons currently hold 13,397 inmates, amounting to a 24 per cent overcrowding rate. A total of 614 detainees are sleeping on the floor. While this figure has declined slightly in recent weeks, it remains exceptionally high.
In the northern prison region, 339 inmates are sleeping on the floor across ten facilities, with Antwerp recording the highest number at 59. In the southern region, 217 detainees are affected in nine prisons. In Brussels, 58 inmates are sleeping on the floor at Haren prison.
Although the number of floor sleepers has fallen from a peak of 672 on 15 December to 614 today - a reduction of 58 people, or around nine per cent - the structural nature of the overcrowding problem remains unchanged. The Prison Service (DG EPI) cautions that such declines are typical during the Christmas period, when inmate numbers temporarily fall before rising again, and does not view the current decrease as a lasting improvement.
Trade unions remain sharply critical. ACOD argues that the lack of decisive action demonstrates a disregard for the rule of law, particularly the Basic Prison Act. The union warns that continued inaction will further increase pressure on both detainees and staff, risking further deterioration of conditions within prisons.
In a recent open letter published in De Standaard, Prison Service director general Mathilde Steenbergen urged political leaders to show greater courage. She warned that the prison system is heading towards collapse, with a real risk of fatalities, and appealed for recognition of staff working under what she described as “impossible” conditions. Steenbergen said she had hoped for a political agreement before the holiday period, to at least offer prison staff a sense of hope.
© BELGA PHOTO JILL DELSAUX
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