Private security personnel could be deployed in prisons due to guard shortage

Belgian justice minister Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) is considering deploying private security personnel in prisons to address overpopulation and a shortage of qualified officers, Bruzz reports.

But the private security agents would only carry out “contactless surveillance assignments,” Verlinden told a parliamentary committee.

Trade unions CGSP-ACOD and CSC-ACV pointed out that the missions could eventually cover tasks such as reception duties and monitoring CCTV footage.

They opposed the plan, questioning its legal application and potential safety risks, as well as the problem of high staff turnover in private security firms.

Verlinden said she was also exploring other options to make it easier to hire prison guards.

She aims to hire 30 additional recruiters and is looking at lowering entrance requirements for staff, including the necessity for prison officers to possess a diploma or Belgian nationality.

But the CGSP-ACOD union remained sceptical, suggesting "Verlinden would be better off significantly improving the status and attractiveness of the job of prison guard, instead of expecting a lot of good from these half-measures."

Verlinden’s cabinet emphasised that the options explored should help insure the government’s ambition to create additional prison capacity during its legislative term.

"That means not only extra infrastructure, but also the necessary employees. And there will always be an eye for the quality of the profiles we want to recruit for our prisons,” it said.

Belgian penitential administration recently confirmed that 482 detainees still need to sleep on a mattress on the ground.

Even if this number has dropped compared to the end of 2025 when it reached a peak of almost 700, prison overpopulation remains a major problem across the country.