Search

While research has increasingly focused on the role of digitalisation in prisoners’ detention experiences, the impact of the digitalisation of the prison regime on the discretionary power of prison officers has been understudied. By using an ethnographic approach in one digital Belgian prison, qualitative interview data are used to investigate the prison officer’s coping strategies in response to the digitalisation of prison life. It is found that the gatekeeping role of prison officer’s has been partly stripped away but also that the impact of digitalisation on the prison officer’s discretionary power depends on how digital technologies are implemented. Moreover, the study reveals that not all official goals regarding the digitalisation are met and highlights the need of supporting prison officers when implementing new technologies in prison.

N/A, Along with seventy other participants, including magistrates and journalists, I spend two days trial runs in the prison of Haren prison. What does this immersion mean and what does it do to a person? This contribution gives, on the basis of a detailed report, an impression of my experiences3 during my short stay of 32 hours in the largest prison of Belgium.

The limited temporal agency of imprisoned persons strongly militates against the active, and future oriented, attitudes, necessary to successfully prepare for release. Based on the testimonies of imprisoned people, this chapter describes and analyzes how the Belgian discretionary gradual early release system, and the substantial difficulties involved in preparing to return to society, create additional uncertainties and psychological pains. Introducing the concept ‘pains of gradual release’, we argue that this creates an absurd situation whereby imprisoned people have to work towards the future while standing still which we denote the ‘reintegration paradox’. This is created and reinforced by the conspicuous lack of support during detention, to prepare imprisoned people for a future life outside prison. In this respect, we also allude to the unintended consequence of the discretionary release procedure: the increasing number of prisoners, who despite being eligible for release, choose to ‘max out’ their sentence to avoid the cumbersome conditional release procedure, and who consequently leave prison with no post-release supervision or guidance.

This paper compares the use of electronic monitoring in three European jurisdictions – Belgium, England and Wales and the Netherlands. It suggests that rates of use, the accepted method of comparison in relation to imprisonment and a proxy measure of ‘punitiveness’ provide a misleading picture when applied to electronic monitoring. This paper transforms Crewe's concept of ‘tightness’ from a dimension of weight to encompass the overlapping elements of length, breadth, depth and weight to provide a framework for analysing how electronic monitoring regimes are designed to disrupt the lives of monitored individuals. Electronic monitoring regimes are diverse and ‘tightness’ varied as much, if not more, within as between jurisdictions. Comparisons of ‘tightness’ also inverted the scale of ‘punitiveness’ produced using rates of use.

Op 30 september 2022 werd de gevangenis van Haren ingehuldigd door een trotse minister van Justitie.d Dit artikel blikt terug op de lange totstandkoming van Haren als grootschalig gevangeniscomplex, op de politieke keuzes en de reacties uit de samenleving en de academische wereld. Is deze nieuwe gevangenis wel zo ‘nieuw’ als ze wordt voorgesteld? En volstaat een nieuw gebouw om de lovenswaardige intenties te realiseren?

Background: Digital technologies have the potential to change the nature of imprisonment and can therefore possibly affect prisoner experiences. This paper discusses the impact of digitalisation, and in particular the use of a digital (in-cell) platform, on the experience of imprisonment. Method: Interviews with prisoners (n=54) in four Belgian prisons with a different extent of digitalisation, were used to determine factors that can explain the variability in prisoner experiences. This qualitative data informed a broader survey about digitalisation and its impact on the quality of prison life experienced by prisoners, which was conducted in 10 Belgian prisons. Results: The digitalisation impacts upon various dimensions of prison life. This presentation focuses on the effect on prisoners’ financial autonomy and distress in prison. Prisoners have a limited degree of choice and possibilities of how to manage their own budget. This study shows that the use of a digital platform removes certain barriers and has the potential to empower prisoners. Through digitalisation, and in particular the use of a digital in-cell platform, prisoners gain autonomy. This also increases prisoners’ responsibilisation, which can create financial distress. These findings raise questions about the financial literacy of prisoners, and the support needed to improve that literacy.

In recent years, the United States and England and Wales have witnessed growing reincarceration rates. This growth is not only due to the courts sending more people to prison (‘front-end sentencing’), but also due to an increasing number of revocations of early release measures, mainly following technical violations of licence conditions (so called ‘back-end sentencing’). However, it is unclear whether the same phenomenon exists in other (European) countries. Therefore, we empirically studied prison recall decision-making processes in Belgium by file analysis, complemented with focus groups with the decision makers involved in the recall process of prisoners with a sentence of more than three years. We found that the recall process in Belgium is embedded in a strong narrative of ‘giving chances’ and that all decision makers deploy a large amount of discretion, which they use to make deliberate decisions in an attempt to facilitate parolees’ reintegration process. Non-compliance with imposed conditions does not automatically lead to recall and even when a parolee is sent back to prison, recall is framed by the decision makers as a step in the reintegration process, not the end of it., In recent years, the United States and England and Wales have witnessed growing re-incarceration rates. This growth is not only due to the courts sending more people to prison (‘front-end sentencing’), but also due to an increasing number of revocations of early release measures, mainly following technical violations of licence conditions (so called ‘back-end sentencing’). However, it is unclear whether the same phenomenon exists in other (European) countries. Therefore, we empirically studied prison recall decision-making processes in Belgium by file analysis, complemented with focus groups with the decision-makers involved in the recall process of prisoners with a sentence of more than three years. We found that the recall process in Belgium is embedded in a strong narrative of ‘giving chances’ and that all decision-makers deploy a large amount of discretion, which they use to make deliberate decisions in an attempt to facilitate parolees’ reintegration process. Non-compliance with imposed conditions does not automatically lead to recall and even when a parolee is sent back to prison, recall is framed by the decision-makers as a step in the reintegration process, not the end of it.

En Belgique, lorsque des détenus bénéficient d’une libération anticipée sous conditions, ils doivent respecter ces conditions pendant un délai d’épreuve. En cas de non-respect, c’est le tribunal de l’application des peines qui décide de la suite à donner. En cas de révocation de la libération conditionnelle, l’intéressé est de nouveau incarcéré. Le tribunal de l’application des peines n’est cependant pas tenu de procéder à une révocation. Dans cet article, nous étudions ces pratiques décisionnelles des tribunaux belges de l’application des peines. Nous montrerons que les tribunaux de l’application des peines mettent en balance différents aspects: 1) la gravité de la violation des conditions, 2) le parcours de réinsertion déjà effectué et envisagé par le condamné, 3) son attitude et 4) sa collaboration avec l’assistant de justice. Les tribunaux de l’application des peines considèrent une procédure de révocation comme faisant partie intégrante du parcours de réinsertion d’un condamné, qu’ils essaient de soutenir, même s’ils disposent de peu de leviers à cet effet. La révocation de la libération conditionnelle est une décision qui, dans la plupart des cas, ne tombe que lorsqu’il n’y a plus d’autres possibilités à l’ordre du jour.

Research showing how the digitalisation of the prison cell influences lived experiences is conspicuous by its absence. This chapter, based on an ethnography of a Belgian prison equipped with the digital platform PrisonCloud, illustrates how the increasingly multifunctional digital cell impacted upon physical and social interactions. The consequences of digitalisation, and the relocation of facilities to the prison cell, are explored through observations and interviews with prisoners, prison officers, and administrative staff. The results find that the use of in-cell digital technology has the potential to alter prisoner-staff interactions and the prisoner’s position of dependency and that it also generates new forms of isolation.

Belgium has a two-track policy towards prison release: a quasiautomatic administrative release system for those with a prison sentence of up to three years, and a discretionary system operated by multidisciplinary Sentence Implementation Courts for persons with a prison term of more than three years. This article describes, discusses and compares both release systems, with a particular focus on their rationales and consequences and provides updated figures on the use of the different forms of release in Belgium. The principle of relative autonomy will be described as an important legitimation strategy of conditional release. The article explains how the sentence implementation rationale of reintegration is put forward as an important aim of sentence implementation in the law and how it is pursued in practice. The consequences of the increasing use of the ‘gradual system’ of release on the detention trajectory of long-term prisoners will be illustrated.

The role of prison food for those in custody has long been either underestimated, or a narrow subject approached from the vantage point of nutritionists. This special issue on prison food, tackles extant knowledge gaps by highlighting the scope of interdisciplinary scholarship, and studies of prison foodways that operate at the intersection of several disciplines. As an introduction to this special issue, we highlight the symbolic role of food as an underestimated feature of the prison environment. For many prisoners, the restrictive detention conditions give food a greater significance than it has outside: food can, and does, condition life in prison and, in many respects, symbolises the custodial experience (Smith, 2002).

Dans le cadre de cette contribution, je vais d'abord démontrer que les douleurs de l'emprisonnement identifiées par Sykes sont toujours pertinentes pour l'analyse de la vie dans les prisons dites post-autoritaires en Belgique et en Europe. Pour des raisons pratiques, je me baserai principalement sur mes propres recherches ou sur celles de mon propre groupe de recherche. Dans une section suivante, je me concentrerai sur les apports de Ben Crewe, qui a publié en 2011 deux articles très importants, sur ce que l’on décrit à présent comme « les nouvelles souffrances de l’emprisonnement » . Ces dernières sont le résultat d'une reconfiguration du système pénitentiaire qui a marqué les dernières décennies ; elles se révèlent également extrêmement pertinentes pour l'analyse de la perception de la peine de prison contemporaine en Europe. Je terminerai par une brève discussion sur le lien étroit qui unit ces souffrances à ce que Crewe a décrit comme soft power, soit un pouvoir d’influence, non coercitif, utilisant « lamanière douce ».

Opiniestuk over het belang van de uitgaansvergunning en het penitentiair, Do not question penitentiair leave because of the shooting of one perpatrator

Electronic monitoring has recently entered a new phase in Belgium by introducing it at the pre-trial stage. In fact, Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking, as supportive technology, has potentially replaced remand custody. From a controlling perspective, GPS tracking is perceived to be remarkable as it allows constant monitoring of subjects’ movements in real time. However, this crucial advantage of GPS tracking is heavily underused in Belgium. This article describes the advent of GPS tracking in Belgium by situating it within broader penal policy and the existing application of electronic monitoring in Belgium. The application and management of GPS tracking will also be explained and its possible advantages and drawbacks discussed.

Introduction to the book

Discretion is a re-occurring theme when breach is discussedIn this chapter we seek to engage with the issue of discretion from the perspective of those involved in the decision making process. Informed by profession theory, we set out a number of questions in relation to this.

Vergelijking tussen het Belgische penitentiaire beleid en het Brusselse (im)mobiliteitsbeleid, met een pleidooi voor een radicale omslag.

Electronic monitoring (EM) was introduced to Belgium in the late 1990s and ever since its use has been changing and expanding. The objectives and political discourse driving the introduction and expansion of EM have varied between encouraging (re)integration, solving the prison overcrowding and increasing the credibility of prison sentence execution. This article describes the evolution of EM and focuses on the shift from the EM-practice of balancing technical control and supervision towards the ever more expanding EM-use prioritising technical control. Where EM was formerly an individualised integrated measure in a broader rehabilitative framework, its use for a large number of prisoners has evolved towards the use of EM as a stand-alone measure. As such, we are witnessing a shift from ‘active’ to ‘passive’ reintegration for the majority of those being subjected to EM.

The use of electronic monitoring (EM) has grown rapidly in Europe and elsewhere and is likely to continue to do so. EM is a technological tool that allows to monitor the location of individuals via an electronic ankle tag, to track the movements of individuals either in real time or retrospectively. This special issue of the European Journal of Probation focuses on the relationship of EM with supervision in four jurisdictions (Belgium, Germany, The Netherlands and Scotland) and the question whether EM is mainly used as a stand-alone order or as an integrated measure; that is, alongside other supervisory conditions. It also contains a contribution with an initial round up of Australian experiences with EM.

For decades institutional food has been studied to learn about wider developments in foodways in the past and present. Prison diets offer additional value to these studies in that prisoners’ food has specific connotations (e.g., control or extra punishment) and that it should not exceed common diets outside the prison (the so-called less-eligibility principle). This interdisciplinary paper examines the Belgian prison system circa 1900, then one of the most advanced worldwide. It addresses two issues: how did prison diets relate to dietary trends outside, and how was food utilized inside of prisons in terms of functionality. The paper surveys prison diets in the second half of the nineteenth century, analyses and assesses the 1905 prison regime and compares it with contemporary norms. This paper contributes to the current debate concerning food and its relationship to detention.

Vison text to create small scale 'houses ' of detention in Belgium. This book gives a penological and architectural approach on small scale imprisonment and contains concrete examples of detention houses, their regimes and staff. The detention trajectory will be organised based on a problem solving plan, that is developed for each prisoner on an individual basis.

MQPL+ and SQL+ in Norgerhaven prison measuring the quality of prison life

Wat is klassenjustitie?

Current criminological research is particularly interested in the question whether or not we are witnessing a punitive turn and it seems that Western democracies today punish differently than a few decades ago. The 'new punitiveness' literature (Pratt, et. al., 2005) and David Garland's (2001) study on the culture of control have fuelled an ongoing debate and research on this question. There are however many ways to compare penal practices and measure punitiveness. Leading comparative research by Cavadino & Dignan (2006) for example relates variations in incarceration rates to contrasting kinds of political economy. However, punitiveness rankings vary substantially depending on the indicator used and ideally we have to take into account all of them to make sense of the assumed penal change. In this special issue we have focused on the use and implementation of community service and have focussed on its characteristics as a contemporary form of punishment. Through a detailed description of the different aspects of the rhetoric on and practice of community service, we aim to identify commonalities and local differences and attempt to understand and explain them. The question of increasing or decreasing punitiveness therefore is only one of our points of interest.

In Belgium, community service (dienstverlening) for adults was introduced in 1994 as a condition of probation at the sentencing level and as a condition of mediation at the prosecution level. It became the so-called ‘work penalty’ (werkstraf) in 2002. This change in the terminology and the legal and penological basis, from an alternative sanction embedded in a rehabilitative approach to just another neoclassical form of punishment primarily aiming for retribution, ushered in another sentencing practice and led to a rapid increase in the number of work penalties imposed. This article describes the legal provisions governing the ‘work penalty’ and the peculiarities of its implementation in practice. It explores the possible explanations of the success of this sentence and the implications of that success for its execution.

De aanslag in het Joodse museum in Brussel in mei 2014, de aanslagen op Charlie Hebdo in Parijs en de verijdelde geplande terreuracties in Verviers begin 2015 leidden tot een verhoogde aandacht voor radicalisering in België. Dit resulteerde o.a. in het Actieplan ‘Aanpak radicalisering in gevangenissen’ van 11 maart 2015. De recente aanslagen in Parijs in november 2015 en de linken met België brachten alles echter in een stroomversnelling. Het regende voorstellen en beleidsmaatregelen op verschillende vlakken, het ene al meer doordacht dan het andere. De naar Syrië vertrekkende en terugkerende ‘foreign terrorist fighters’, die zich geroepen voelen om mee strijd te voeren met Islamitische Staat (IS), en de verdachten die zouden betrokken zijn bij de aanslagen in Parijs, zijn ondertussen de meest geviseerde groep geworden in België. De regering stond en staat nog steeds onder zware druk om de bevolking gerust te stellen dat aanslagen in België zullen kunnen vermeden worden. Na de terreurdreigingen niveaus drie en vier (zie ook Beyens, 2016) en het paniekvoetbal die ermee gepaard ging, is het hoog tijd om even stil te staan bij de aanpak die er in het afgelopen jaar werd uitgewerkt.

Belgian sentencing is in a period of turmoil. Belgian judges value their independence. Most believe in the desirability of individualized sentencing and resent intrusions on their autonomy. Although many continue to hold classsical views about the purposes of sentencing, new practices and laws, triggered partly by several decades of rising imprisonment rates and recent efforts by policy makers and correctional officials to contain it, have changed the penal landscape. The public prosecutor has increasing authority to divert cases from investigation and from sentencing judges, leading to de facto sentencing powers for prosecutors. Recent and upcoming innovations have created new freestanding sanctions of work penalties (often elsewhere called community service), electronic monitoring, and probation. A more fully bifurcated legal system is emerging with longer prison sentences for some offenses and offenders, including postprison post-prison preventive detention, and more community punishments aiming for a reduced use of imprisonment for others. Many judges are unconvinced though about the desirability of reduced imprisonment use for some convicted offenders. It remains to be seen what Belgian sentencing will look like when practices incorporating recent changes have stabilized.

This chapter analyses the narratives and practices of community punishment in Belgium at different levels, that is, policy and legislation, application and operation. Having conducted sentencing research on the custody threshold (Beyens 2000a) and having been involved in research into the implementation of both the work penalty (Luypaert et al. 2007) and electronic monitoring (EM) (Devresse et al. 2006; Beyens and Roosen 2013, 2015), I will focus on these two penalties to tell the Belgian story of community punishment. They can be regarded as illustrations of what Bottoms et al. (2004) have identified as the ‘new generation of community penalties’, characterized by a focus on a punishing rhetoric, a growing reliance on technology to enforce the requirements, the introduction of new public management techniques, the contracting out of responsibilities to other bodies and inter-agency cooperation and partnership (Bottoms et al. 2004). I will reflect on how these features connect with the adaptation strategies that have been identified by Robinson et al. (2013) and discussed in the introduction to this volume. The emergence of the work penalty and EM will be situated in a broader political context and their acceptance will be compared with earlier community-oriented penal interventions, such as probation and suspended sentences. I will argue that the development of the new generation of community penalties is deeply rooted in the problem of the ever-increasing prison overcrowding and the search for a solution to the prison crisis. I will show how initial rehabilitative narratives and practices of the work penalty and EM have been reframed under the pressures of increasing numbers, managerial objectives and budgetary considerations.

Review van het boek 'Howardreizen' van Tom Vander Beken

Een vluchtmisdrijf met dodelijke afloop voor een jong meisje beroerde twee weken geleden de gemoederen. Politierechters trokken aan de alarmbel en uitten hun onmacht om recidiverende plegers van verkeersmisdrijven effectief de gevangenis in te krijgen. ‘Soms kun je niet anders dan een gevangenisstraf uitspreken. Maar die voeren ze niet uit’, kopte de weekendkrant van de Standaard van 7 november jl.. Het oude zeer van de niet-uitvoering van de gevangenisstraf was weer brandend actueel.

The numbers of adult offenders1 under supervision in the community have grown rapidly in recent decades. In most jurisdictions in and beyond Europe, offenders under supervision (whether as an alterna- tive to prosecution or sentence, as a community sentence in its own right, or as part of a post-custody licence) heavily outnumber those detained in custody. In Germany, for example, whereas the number of prisoners has decreased in recent years, the number of offenders under probation supervision has increased, such that by 2011 there were about 190,000 people under supervision as opposed to 55,000 sentenced prisoners (Federal Statistics Office, 2013 a, 2013b). To take a second example, in March 2013 in England and Wales the prison population was 83,769, while the population of offenders under stat- utory supervision in the community at the end of 2012 was 224,823 (Ministry of Justice, 2013). Systems and practices of offender super- vision have also developed swiftly in Central and Eastern Europe, where nascent probation systems have been a part of post-Soviet-era criminal justice reforms.