Rehumanising criminal justice in Belgium
Criminal justice has not kept pace with the modern world. For the sake of society, it's time that changed.
Detention in Belgium is unfortunately still run on the 19th century principles of incarceration in traditional, large-scale, impersonal prisons. Since 2014, we have been supporting De Huizen, an organisation which has pioneered a more humane model of detention. De Huizen's concept involves small-scale, differentiated detention that is integrated in the community. In this model rehabilitation is at the centre, right from the beginning of each prisoner's sentence.
While the moral case for such a change is evident, the social and economic case is equally strong – human-scale detention in smaller buildings with a focus on reintegration reduces the risk of reoffending and therefore the overall cost for society.
