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In certain cases, leaders of criminal organizations or drug gangs who are in prison can be placed in a special security regime, with, for example, permanent camera surveillance and a ban on visiting. This was announced by Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD).
A system of increased security already exists in prisons, for detainees who pose a serious danger to their fellow inmates and prison staff, or to prevent members of terrorist networks from spreading radical ideas within the prison walls. They cannot participate in group activities, their correspondence is checked and there are restrictions on visits and telephone calls.
Now there will also be such a regime for “mafia bosses”. “Now that more and more leaders of organized crime and large-scale drug trafficking are being convicted and extradited, we need a special security regime,” Minister Van Tigchelt said in a press release. “We are not naive and know that they are trying to continue their criminal activities from prison.” By placing them in a special security regime, “we want to permanently cut their ties with the underworld outside prison and stop their disruptive impact on society.”
The security regime is based on “more isolation, more control and less privacy”. It can be imposed on detainees suspected or convicted of leadership of a criminal organization or a gang involved in drug trafficking. It is the Director General of the Prisons Service who formally makes the decision. In addition to the measures in the classic security regime, additional restrictions are possible, such as permanent camera observation or exclusion of the right to visit.
“The aim is not to punish the detainee additionally, but to prevent the security risk for the population from continuing,” Van Tigchelt added. Haren prison, among others, is equipped for such a special security regime.
The bill was approved by the federal parliament on Wednesday.
