As of today (Thursday), prison sentences between two and three years have to be served in Belgium. Paradoxically, this aims to combat the overpopulation of jails in the country.
Belgium has been facing overcrowding of its prisons for many years, hence why the policy of enforcing short sentences was delayed for so long. Now, they will be systematically carried out as the first phase of the so-called External Legal Status Act (WERP) enters into force.
"It is exactly 50 years since short sentences were systematically not served in our country. This has proved disastrous. It does not reduce overpopulation, and instead mainly creates impunity," Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said.
"As of today, we are finally putting a stop to this by effectively imposing short sentences again. This is the fundamental task of justice: the sentence that a judge passes must be carried out. By doing this, we also want to restore citizens' trust in the justice system."
Not producing results
Originally, the policy to forego short sentences was implemented in 1972 to reduce prison overcrowding – a measure that was systematically expanded. As a result, sentences of up to three years were replaced by electronic surveillance and sentences of up to six months were often not served at all.
However, this approach did not produce the desired results. "Paradoxically, it led to overcrowding in prisons. By not intervening at the first conviction, first-time offenders often imagine themselves untouchable and grow into career criminals," Van Quickenborne stated.
The Justice Minisiter argues that this is one of the reasons why the country has a very high repeat offending rate; it also contributes to sentence inflation.
"To make sure that convicted persons do indeed serve (part of) their sentence, judges are more likely to impose heavier sentences and investigating magistrates are more likely to remand suspects in custody. This contributes even more to prison overcrowding."
Continued delays
The law to reintroduce short sentences was passed in 2006, but the entry into force of this law was postponed 12 times. Now, it will be carried out in two phases, with the second to be completed in September 2023. This concerns sentences of up to 2 years.
Related News
- Justice Department heads to heavy metal festival to recruit new prison staff
- Belgian prisoners demonstrate against poor conditions, administration responds
These sentences will be carried out in detention houses — small-scale locations with a lower level of security — where detainees work from day one on their reintegration into society with the help of detention supervisors. Detention centres abroad have proven that this significantly reduces recidivism, according to Van Quickenborne.
Additionally, new prisons of Haren and Dendermonde will open in the autumn, offering 1,190 and 444 places respectively.
