Staffing levels in prisons have risen to 98.4%, reported Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne. While this is an improvement, prisons in Belgium remain overcrowded and staff maintain that they are too few to oversee the number of inmates.
In July last year, prisons had an occupancy rate of 94%; this year that figure rose to 98.4%. 600 vacancies remain for prisons to be fully staffed. To this end, job fairs are being organised in the prisons where most staff are needed: Haren, Dendermonde, Beveren and Mechelen.
Van Quickenborne pointed to the accelerated contractual recruitment procedure which was introduced last summer. Since July 2022, the new procedure has allowed prisons to recruit locally and offer a contract of up to two years with the possibility of switching to a statutory appointment. Within weeks of the application and medical tests, new staff can start working.
The main need now is for guard assistants, security assistants and detention supervisors, as well as administrative staff, social assistants and nurses.
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The Namur prison staff have organised a flash strike which started Tuesday night at 22:00 and will last until Wednesday at 22:00. The striking staff wish to draw attention to the crowded cells and the security issues that stem from them. Staff have been forced to put matrasses on the ground as there are too many inmates for the number of beds.
The staff at the Namur prison also stated that they have many young recruits who have not yet learned how to deal with tense situations, which are ever more prevalent due to the lack of space in the prison.
