Flemish Minister Zuhal Demir wants to give 4,000 “stray criminals” ankle strap

Although there is only room for 11,000, there were 12,834 detainees in our prisons last month. And then more than 700 prisoners were sent with extended penitentiary leave and 2,500 convicted criminals were still « waiting » at home until a cell was released for them. These are convicts who received a prison sentence of a maximum of five years.

In the meantime, their number has already risen to 3,400 and by July the waiting list will rise to 6,400. A significant increase, which, according to the newspaper, would be partly due to the policy to always have imprisonment carried out for up to and including three years. Federal Minister of Justice Annelies Verlinden (CD&V) already announced that she wanted to give short -straying an ankle band or community service again more often and although Vlaams Justice Minister Demir « does not want to pay for the federal tampering », she now wants to «  » temporarily and under conditions  » – to help based on her own proposal.

“It is not an easy exercise, but I have consulted with my services for a long time and we should succeed in for a limited period (from 2.5 years, ed.) In 4,000 extra single tires, « she says in Het Laatste Nieuws. At the moment there are already 5,187 people under electronic supervision in Flanders.“ For the sake of clarity: this is an emergency solution. I am not jumping for it either. But today, thousands of convicts, who should actually be in prison, are just free without anyone knowing where they are hanging – who knows in the vicinity of their victims. At least with an ankle strap we get some insight into that. « 

Demir does connect a number of conditions to its offer. That is a temporary emergency measure to give the federal colleague the time to create new prison capacity and to return foreign criminals.