Belgian prisoners to move to Dutch jail

Belgium has a serious shortage of prison space - about 2,000 too few places for the number of detainees. The Netherlands, on the other hand, has about the same amount of spare capacity - 14,000 places for 12,000 prisoners. To accommodate the Belgian prisoners, the Dutch will empty the 681-person Tilburg prison, which is close enough to the border to minimise the inconvenience to prisoners' families. Belgium will fill the prison with 500 of its own detainees.
The move will only happen once details are sorted out between the Dutch parliament as well as the seven parliaments in Belgium, which is likely to happen by the end of the year.
The deal allows a number of Dutch prison guards to keep their jobs. The Dutch government is closing eight prisons across the country, with 12,000 prison officers' jobs at risk, due to a fall in crime. Dutch officers will continue to operate the prison in Tilburg, but Belgian law will apply, and the director will be a Belgian. The federal government here will pay €30 million a year, which works out to about €164 a day for each of the 500 prisoners. The prisoners themselves will be long-term convicts, mainly Dutch-speaking, with none of them on remand or close to release. About 190 are Dutch nationals serving time in Belgian jails, and it's expected that they will be first in line for a transfer.
Belgian prison officers' unions have opposed the plan, calling instead for the prison in either Tongeren or Saint Hubert to be re-opened. The ACOD union also proposed renting two Dutch prison boats, which could be moored in Antwerp and staffed by Belgian personnel. "This is cheaper, simpler and could be done quickly," a union representative said. "And it does something for employment here."
The situation in Belgium's jails was highlighted last week when it was revealed that Ypres' prison currently holds 109 prisoners, despite having a nominal capacity of only 55. Also, Bruges' prison has 751 inmates for a capacity of 632. Throughout the system, the situation of men sleeping on a mattress on the floor of a two-man cell is commonplace. Alternatives are beset with difficulties: while there are 748 offenders now on release under electronic surveillance, the waiting list of those suitable for that programme is now over 1,300. While there are enough ankle-bands to go round, there is a shortage of staff to monitor the system.
In 2008, 13 prisoners in the Belgian penitentiary system committed suicide - a phenomenon closely correlated with overcrowding. Also in 2008, the number of escapes went up to 62 from 40 in 2007. Only 49 of the escapees were re-arrested.