Guards, prison management, the prisoners themselves: everyone is tired of overcrowding. And now also the Supervisory Committees of the prisons: they monitor the well-being of prisoners. In a letter to governors and mayors with a prison in their city or municipality, they raise the alarm.
Avoidable detention damage
From the letter from the Supervisory Committee about the Bruges prison: “Based on our findings and during our weekly visits, the committee is of the opinion that the detention conditions in Bruges also lead to a blatant disregard for the dignity of the imprisoned people, (…) and with avoidable detention damage.”
Catherine Ruys, chairman of the Bruges Prison Supervisory Committee: “Suppose there were a hotel here in Bruges that could accommodate a hundred people, but where 140 people stayed every day all year round: then I think that the mayor and the governor would at least take a look on site to verify this and to take the necessary measures.”
Recording stop
Because a mayor is responsible for safety, the Supervisory Committee requires him or her to take administrative measures. A recording stop, for example. Although that would also have consequences: “If he denies access to the prison, those people will be transported to another prison, of course. That is also why we, together with the committees of all prisons throughout Belgium, have written letters to the mayors involved.”
Strong signal
The Supervisory Committee of the prison in Ypres will soon send the letter, which was sent from Bruges on Christmas Day. Mayor Dirk De fauw has not yet read it, but it does not appear that he is taking action quickly: such a prisoner freeze is not the solution, he says. Catherine Ruys, chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Bruges Prison: “In addition to those administrative measures, our mayor can also pass on this very strong signal from the Supervisory Committees to other authorities. I am thinking of the magistracy and I am certainly also thinking of the political level in Brussels.”
De fauw has already done that, he tells our editors: he will soon raise the issue again with Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden.