Belgian prisons have seen an increased capacity over a year, yet they remain nearly 15% overcrowded, according to recent data from the Ministry of Justice.
As of 1 March, there were 12,316 inmates occupying 10,743 places, indicating an overcrowding rate of 14.6% with respect to the total Belgian prison capacity. This is a slight decrease from a 17% rate registered in March last year.
Up to 250 inmates were sleeping on mattresses on the floor as of 1 March, as reported by the Ministry of Justice. Additionally, over 281 extra beds have been set up in the country's prisons to date.
Multiple factors have contributed to these statistics, explained the Ministry of Justice. These include factors such as an increase in the duration of provisional detention, the introduction of short sentences, and a higher number of committals.
"We have noticed an increase in all groupings: committed patients, detainees on remand, and those sentenced to terms of less than or equal to three years, and more than three years," the Ministry added.
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The Federal Government has made efforts to increase capacity by building new prisons, extending the use of older infrastructures, and establishing smaller-scale detention facilities, such as detention or transition houses.
"Investments have also been made to modernise outdated infrastructures. However, these initiatives cannot keep up with the increasing prison population," the Ministry further justified.
The administration emphasised that hiring and training new staff forms a "major challenge", mirroring other sectors, thus slowing down the provision of new spaces.
