Flemish justice minister Zuhal Demir (Flemish nationalist/N-VA) has come up with a plan of action of her own to help address prison overcrowding, a responsibility of the federal state. She’s proposing providing an additional 4,000 convicted offenders with an ankle tag over the next two and a half years. These convicted criminals should be in jail, but that is currently not possible due to a lack of prison spaces. Ms Demir says that in this way she wants to give her federal colleague Annelies Verlinden (Flemish Christian democrat/CD&V) more time to solve the problem.
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Flemish minister Demir offers to ankle tag 4,000 short-term offenders: ‘to clean up the federal shit’
Colin Clapson
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In mid-February, there were 13,538 prisoners in Belgian jails, while there is actually only room for some 11,000 inmates. According to the federal justice ministry, this overcrowding is partly due to getting criminals to serve short prison sentences, a measure that has been in force since September 2022.
To deal with this overcrowding, 3,400 convicted criminals with short sentences are not being incarcerated. That's not a good solution either, says Flemish justice minister Demir, because it leaves thousands of offenders at liberty, who, she believes, ‘can continue their criminal careers undisturbed’. That number is forecast to rise month-on-month: to nearly 5,000 in May and 6,400 in July.
Federal justice minister Annelies Verlinden suggested last month that once more short-term prisoners be given an ankle tag so they can stay at home and be electronically supervised, but this is a decision that can only be taken by Belgium’s federated entities. On behalf of the Flemish government Ms Demir initially rejected the idea, but she has now come up with her own proposal, albeit a temporary one, ‘to solve this federal shit’.
But under what conditions?
Specifically, over the next two and a half years, Flanders wants to provide ankle tags for an additional 4,000 offenders currently at large to put them under electronic surveillance. ‘This is a tough operation, but we have to do it temporarily to ensure people in Flanders are safe. During that period of grace, the federal justice system will be able to expand its prison capacity and put prisoners back in jail.’
Ms Demir is setting conditions: ‘The funds from the federal government must come upfront. It's about 18 million euros.’
Secondly, improper use of ankle tags must be ruled out: ‘We are going to scrutinse who is allocated a tag. For example, in cases of family violence, it is logical that those convicted should not be allowed to sit at home with an ankle tag. We are also not going to allow those who violate their conditions to return home with a tag.’
Ms Demir also expects Ms Verlinden to take her responsibilities and tackle the prison system's overcrowding structurally. But is that possible in 2.5 years? ‘After all, that is half of Minister Verlinden's term. It is not a solution, that the Flemish government tackles the problems of the prison system unilaterally. I want to do that, but then those powers must also be transferred to the Flemish government.’