Prison system denounces overcrowding as 600 prisoners sleep on floors
A total of 600 prisoners are currently sleeping on the floor in Belgium, a new record for the country. The prison administration sounded the alarm bell on Monday, describing the situation as no longer manageable.
The total prison population in Belgium stands at 13,613, a level that the administration describes as “unprecedented”. By way of comparison, on 9 December 2024, the figure was 12,764.
According to the administration, the rapid increase is the result of a combination of factors: outflow is particularly slow and there has been a sharp increase in the number of defendants in pre-trial detention, the number of internees and the number of undocumented migrants ending up in detention. This combination is pushing the institutions to their limits.
The regional distribution shows how widespread the problem is. There are 346 prisoners sleeping on the floor in Flemish prisons, across 10 institutions. In Wallonia, there are 220 prisoners sleeping on the floor at nine institutions. In Brussels, at Haren prison, 34 prisoners are sleeping on the floor, despite the recent addition of 43 beds.
“The extreme overcrowding and the growing number of prisoners sleeping on the floor underline the need for immediate structural measures,” a prison service spokesperson said. In recent weeks, the administration has repeatedly called for measures to ease the pressure on the system, such as the reintroduction of extended leave. However, there seems to be little movement on this front so far.
Justice minister Annelies Verlinden has previously indicated that she was working on additional measures, but the issue was not discussed at Friday's core cabinet meeting of the federal government.
Mechelen's prison © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS
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