Some prisons still lack sufficient officers to provide essential services to prisoners, the Central Council of Prison Monitoring (CCSP) highlighted in its annual report for 2023 on Monday.
In the report, which focuses largely on services in prisons during strikes, the Council emphasised that even under regular circumstances some penitentiary establishments still fall short of the necessary number of officers needed for basic services.
The minimum service provision in prisons was established by a law which came into force on 23 March 2019. Notably, this law allows for staff to be requisitioned if a strike lasts over 48 hours.
The CCSP reported that fewer, shorter and less impactful strikes have taken place since the law was implemented. However, it underlined that prisoners are still the "first collateral victims" and that the law is "faulty and insufficient" in respecting the basic rights and dignity of prisoners in all circumstances.
Police cars in front of Merksplas Prison. Credit: Belga / Luc Claessen
Last year, three visits were conducted to penitentiary establishments on strike (Merksplas in June, and Saint-Gilles and Nivelles in September). During the visits, the Council observed that both the "physical and psychological integrity of prisoners were affected," with most confined to their cells 24 hours a day.
This was unsurprising considering the chronic understaffing issues, according to the monitoring body; in January 2023, there were 200 full-time equivalent positions short of the benchmark set by the law.
Overcrowding
In 2023, there was an increase in imprisonment rates. The report found that prison populations continued to grow after the pandemic, peaking in March 2024 at 12,399 detainees, before the enforcement of the "extended prison leave for overpopulation". This only resulted in a limited decrease of 29 inmates.
As a result of overcrowding last year – which the CCSP estimated to be around 13% – "many prisoners had to spend the night sleeping on a mattress on the floor in 2023," with 216 found to be sleeping in these conditions in December.
According to the CCSP, the impact of strikes is becoming increasingly difficult to manage in light of this "alarming" prison overpopulation. The president of the Council, Marc Nève, emphasised the urgency of a profound prison system reform on the release of this report: "I call on political leaders to act promptly as the consequences of inaction could be disastrous for prisoners and society as a whole."
The report suggests that prison sentences of two years or less are contributing to the rise of prison overpopulation and recommends a broader application of alternative sentences.
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Outgoing Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt praised the "undeniable quality" of the report but regretted its focus on certain negatives, in particular, the issue of maintaining social relationships and the reclassification of prisoners.
Noting the report's "very negative" view on prison strikes, the Justice Minister acknowledged that improvements were needed. However, he was quick to highlight that minimum service now receives increased attention and that it is "exceptional" for industrial action to last over 48 hours.
The central theme of the CCSP's monitoring committees this year will be mental health and its management in prisons.
