The number of people detained in Belgian prisons reached 12,012 on Monday, a new record. Trade unionist Eddy De Smedt (VSOA) says overcrowded conditions are "utterly appalling" for inmates and staff alike.
For the first time, prisoner numbers have surpassed 12,000 in a system that only has a capacity for 10,700.
To draw attention to prisoners' inhumane living conditions and the highly stressful working conditions for staff, trade unions have announced yet another strike across prisons in the north of the country from next week.
Overcrowding is at the root of a myriad of issues the system faces. "Three people are crammed into one 9m2 cell," De Smedt told Het Nieuwsblad. "One of them has to lie on a mattress on the floor. Such conditions inevitably trigger conflict and violence."
Prison spokesperson Kathleen Van De Vijver announced that talks with trade unions will take place on 1 February.
Vicious cycle
Prison staff have been engaged in a sustained conflict with the State in an attempt to find some way out of a long-standing crisis.
On top of overcrowding, inmates are subjected to an array of epidemics such as bedbugs and fungus as well as a disregard for health and safety in some facilities. A small amount sleep in windowless cells.
These living conditions provoke incidents of aggression which in turn feed feelings of insecurity among personnel. Assaults on guards are becoming a common occurrence and severe staff shortages are making work life increasing intolerable.
The latest round of strikes are one of dozens in the past few years. As early as 2014, then Justice Minister Koen Geens (CD&V) had intended to reduce occupancy to below 10,000 (the number of prisoners reached a new high of 11,644 the previous year).
Former Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) visits a prison in Forest, Brussels, in November 2022. Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
Under the current Vivaldi government, Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) – who resigned in October last year – wanted to up the amount of prison sentences lasting under three years carried out as part of a public order campaign.
"These short sentences are now causing a major problem," laments De Smedt. "There are serious cases of people who absolutely do not belong in a cell."
Van Quickenborne's replacement, Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD), has promised to create more space, but trade unionists point out that this is useless if not accompanied by an increase in staff.
