Overcrowded prisons protest: Directors demand two releases for every new prisoner

Belgian prison governors are demanding that severe overcrowding be tackled by releasing two prisoners for every new prisoner who enters, according to an open letter published in various media outlets.

The directors believe this measure should remain in force until no one has to sleep on the floor any more, which is the current reality jails face as record-breaking numbers of people are incarcerated.

“This week, a new record was broken: the 13,000 prisoner mark was passed, with 326 people sleeping on the floor in Belgian cells,” reads the letter, which was drafted by the head of Merksplas prison and received support from the Flemish and Walloon federations of prison governors. “Public reaction from the political spectrum? Zero.”

The prison directors say they can no longer work in accordance with the law and are calling for short-term measures "to prevent a dam bursting".

Those measures include quotas in all prisons, in two phases. Until there are no more prisoners sleeping on the floor, two prisoners must be released for every prisoner who enters. Then, once no one is sleeping on the floor any more, the principle should apply that for every prisoner who enters, another must leave.

Prison managers are also asking for financial resources calculated on the basis of the actual number of prisoners, and "not on a theoretical number that does not reflect reality".

In concrete terms, this means that resources must be provided for 13,000 prisoners instead of Belgium's theoretical prison capacity of 11,000.

“Ignoring this final appeal politically is no longer a political option,” the letter warns.

“The famous red line has also been crossed here. If no decisions are taken, this time action will be the inevitable consequence. We simply can't take it any more.”

Justice minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) responded to the letter, saying that since taking office in February, she had contacted other policy departments - such as asylum and migration, public health, and home and foreign affairs - and that working groups had been set up to tackle overcrowding.

“I think it is high time to send a signal that we take this very seriously,” Verlinden said.

“If there are more than 5,000 people without legal residence in our prisons and more than 1,000 people who are interned and therefore need vulnerable psychiatric care, then that is not just a problem for the justice department.”

Verlinden said it was for this reason that it is necessary to work with the countries of origin for these foreign prisoners, and that while extra capacity in prisons in the long term could help, it remains challenging.

“If there were easy solutions, they would have been implemented long ago,” said Verlinden.

“We must continue to address this issue. Otherwise, we cannot remain indignant about insecurity in society. It is the government's responsibility.”

A number of strike actions have already taken place in Belgian prisons related to overcrowding and poor working conditions, and another countrywide action is planned for Thursday, when staff and management of all Belgian prisons will organise in front of prison gates between 12.30 and 14.30.

“The prison crisis is unprecedented and the prisons are crying out for help,” the prison service said in announcing the action.

The management points to the rapidly rising incarceration figures. The total number of prisoners has increased by 18 just since 22 September. Dutch-speaking prisons saw a decrease of six, but French-speaking and Brussels institutions saw 12 new prisoners each. The number of convicts on Flemish prison leave fell by 18.

The problem of prisoners sleeping on the floor also continues to grow. In just one week, 27 more inmates were relegated to the floor, bringing the total to 353.

The prison system says this figure illustrates how dire the situation is and explains the joint call for action.

Prison directors will come out together with their staff and be visibly present at the prison gates and in the car parks to speak to the press, aiming to underline the seriousness of the crisis and send a strong signal to the government.

The trade unions support the call and are encouraging their members to join the protest, saying this initiative by the administration itself shows how deep the prison crisis has become and that the usual consultation and emergency measures are no longer sufficient.

Previous government interventions, such as extended prison leave, have not reduced the figures.