Publications

Participation in prison activities significantly normalises the detention period. Work for example provides daily structure, meaningful engagement, and the opportunity to earn money. Education can lead to diplomas and has the potential to empower individuals.3 There is a high demand for sports activities among incarcerated people, as they enhance physical and mental well-being. Mental health services in prison can offer a chance for many ...

This study examines the digitization of prisons, through ethnographic research conducted by Robberechts (2021) on the impact of the digital platform PrisonCloud on life in one Belgian prison. PrisonCloud has ushered in a two-way communication mechanism, allowing imprisoned persons to digitally interact from their cell with internal services and external individuals. Building on Crewe’s (2011) theoretical constructs of depth, weight, and ...

In September 2022, a mock detention was organized in the then soon to be opened prison in Haren to test the operation of the prison and to offer the opportunity to external persons to have a detention experience. About 50 participants, mostly judicial actors, took part in this so-called immersion. While existing scholarship focuses on the experiences during short term prison visits, research on participants’ experiences of mock detentions is ...

Along with seventy other participants, including magistrates and journalists, I spend two days trial runs in the prison of Haren prison. What does this immersion mean and what does it do to a person? This contribution gives, on the basis of a detailed report, an impression of my experiences3 during my short stay of 32 hours in the largest prison of Belgium.

The limited temporal agency of imprisoned persons strongly militates against the active, and future oriented, attitudes, necessary to successfully prepare for release. Based on the testimonies of imprisoned people, this chapter describes and analyzes how the Belgian discretionary gradual early release system, and the substantial difficulties involved in preparing to return to society, create additional uncertainties and psychological pains. ...

Medewerkers van het Coördinatieorgaan voor de dreigingsanalyse (OCAD) maken op dagelijkse basis inschattingen over de waarschijnlijkheid dat personen opgenomen in de Gemeenschappelijke Gegevensbank (bv. potentieel gewelddadige extremisten) in de toekomst zullen overgaan tot het plegen van extremistisch geïnspireerd geweld. Ze gebruiken daarvoor de RooT37, een door het OCAD ontwikkeld, gestructureerd risicotaxatie-instrument (Van Hoey, 2020). Bij ...

Op 30 september 2022 werd de gevangenis van Haren ingehuldigd door een trotse minister van Justitie.d Dit artikel blikt terug op de lange totstandkoming van Haren als grootschalig gevangeniscomplex, op de politieke keuzes en de reacties uit de samenleving en de academische wereld. Is deze nieuwe gevangenis wel zo ‘nieuw’ als ze wordt voorgesteld? En volstaat een nieuw gebouw om de lovenswaardige intenties te realiseren?