BRUSSELS — In mid-May 2026, Belgium’s 39 prisons held 13,733 inmates, exceeding the official capacity of 11,064 by 2,669 people. The overcrowding has intensified longstanding concerns about prison conditions, staff shortages, and the system’s ability to support rehabilitation.

Detainees in some facilities face severe space constraints, with 9-square-metre cells at Mons prison housing three to four individuals. At least 754 inmates across the country were sleeping on mattresses on the floor as of mid-May 2026, up from 672 in December 2025. Prisoners, particularly those held on remand, are often confined to their cells for 22 to 23 hours per day, and access to medical care can take months.

Health risks have proliferated in overcrowded settings. Scabies, bed bugs, and monkeypox spread widely in Mons prison. Critical incidents in Belgian prisons doubled within one year, according to the directorate-general of prisons. A 2024 video showing a prisoner tortured by five fellow inmates during a 48-hour guard strike drew national attention to deteriorating oversight.

“The combination of ever-increasing overcrowding and staff shortages makes the situation very, very, very difficult. It’s become almost impossible to maintain a detention system aimed at reintegrating people,” said Pieter Houbey, vice-chairman of the Central Prison Monitoring Council. He noted Belgium’s reoffending rate stands between 60 and 70 percent.

Tahar Elhamdaoui, founder of NGO Collectif Desistance, warned that the current approach fuels despair rather than rehabilitation. “Prison leads to recidivism. As long as there are no prisons that prepare people to succeed outside, we will not only be producing more crime upon release, but also a sense of despair so deep that people will not be able to reintegrate into society.”

An-Sofie Vanhouche, professor in the criminology department of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, criticized recent government responses as ineffective. “Research shows that the more [prison] space we have, the more people we usually send to prison,” she said. “These moves are very populist and symbolic. While only having a small impact, they raise numerous ethical questions around the protection of prisoners’ rights and their wellbeing.”

Belgium’s prison population surge followed a 2023 policy change that began enforcing all sentences of up to three years in detention, ending the prior practice of electronic monitoring. In response, parliament passed an emergency bill in July 2025 allowing early release for some inmates and promoting alternative punishments. The government also plans to install modular units and renovate existing facilities while awaiting new construction.