Brussels (Brussels Morning) – Belgium ramps up prison security to tackle rising trials of crime bosses, extending special regimes with intense surveillance and visit bans. Judicial measures aim to stem criminal influence, drawing from the Netherlands and Italy’s tactics.
As a rising number of bosses of organised crime and large-scale drug trafficking are put on trial in Belgium, the country is growing a regime for increased security in prisons to include mafia leaders.
What Special Security Regime Awaits Crime Bosses in Belgium?
Leaders of criminal organisations or drug gangs who are in prison may in particular cases be placed in a special security regime, with, for example, endless camera observation and a visit ban, Justice Minister Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD) reported. It is one of the latest in a series of measures taken by the judiciary to fight organised crime.
How Will Belgium Cut Criminal Influence Behind Bars?
“With more and more leaders of organised crime and large-scale drug trafficking being sentenced and extradited, we need a special security regime. We are not inexperienced and know that they are trying to continue their criminal activities from prison,” Van Tigchelt stated. This has already appeared from the intercepted Sky ECC messages, among others.
“Such a security regime also exists in the Netherlands and Italy. Specifically, this means more control, more isolation and less privacy for the ringleaders,” he stated. This ensures ties to the underbelly outside the prison remain permanently cut.
What Tactics Does Belgium Employ Against Crime Leaders?
The system of improved security, which is being expanded to include mafia bosses in prison, already exists for prisoners who pose a serious risk to their fellow inmates and prison attendants. It can also be utilised to prevent members of terrorist networks from extending radical ideas within the prison walls. These people are banned from group activities, their correspondence is observed and there are restrictions on visits and telephone calls.
The bill paving the course for the expansion, approved by the federal parliament on Wednesday, represents the regime that can be imposed on inmates with a proven influential role in a criminal organisation or a gang involved in drug trafficking.
The usual standards of a classical security regime can be extended to include other conditions including permanent camera monitoring and the exclusion of the right to visit by some or all people. Determining to place a person under tighter guard is up to the Director General of the prison system. “The aim is not to further punish the prisoner, but to prevent the security risk for the population from persisting,” Van Tigchelt stated. The flagship mega-prison in Haren, among others, is equipped for such a special security regime.
