“The goal is to make the justice centers known. It is very bizarre because we have been around for more than 25 years, but hardly anyone knows what we do,” says Evelien Demuynck, director of the justice centers in Bruges and Veurne.
In times when prisons are bursting at the seams, justice centers offer an important alternative through ankle bracelets and other forms of punishment outside the cell. This requires additional resources, Demuynck emphasizes. “If prisons need to be relieved and more alternative punishments are introduced, there must also be sufficient resources available. We are asking for investment in a humane justice system.”