Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #17 - Designing a Humane Corrections: Possibilities and Challenges (ACJ17-A004)

Article 4: From Inmate to Resident; From Prison Guard to Personal Officer: New Opportunities for Detention Houses (ACJ17-A004)

Abstract

With ‘detention houses’, the Belgian government introduces a small-scaled detention form, specifically for the execution of sentences up to 3 years. In the detention house, the autonomy of the resident is paramount. Different factors increase the level of trust and responsibility and seem to have a beneficial effect on the motivation of both residents and staff and contribute to a positive living environment. There is evidently also an emphasis on the integration of the detention house into the neighborhood. A key factor in the success of the detention houses is the introduction of the personal officer instead of the ‘classical’ prison officer. This facilitates the realisation of the principle of normalisation, autonomy and responsibility, rehabilitation, and reintegration. In a prison setting, the personal officer and security assistant work side by side and have complementary tasks and missions. In the detention house, however – because of their specific mission and approach – security and safety are guaranteed only by personal officers, there are no security assistants at work.

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Authors

Ils Milis

Strategic Director, Belgian Prison Service, Belgium

Ils Milis has master’s in criminology and in public management. She started her career in 1997 as head of the medical center at the prison of Saint-Gilles and became coordinator for the medical centers within the prison service a few years later. In 2001 she took up the position of prison governor in the prison of Leuven Centraal followed by the federal center for juveniles in Everberg. In 2008 she transferred to headquarters to launch a program management office. She managed several projects and programs and is currently strategic director for the Belgian prison service.

Hilde Guffens

Prison Governor, Project Leader, FOD Justitie - DG EPI, Belgium

Hilde Guffens graduated in Educational Science at the University of Louvain. After working in victim support for 8 years, she started her career within the prison service in 2000 on the project of restorative justice, both on local as on regional level. In 2005, she joined the Regional Direction North to support the local prisons and governors. Since 2009, she was appointed as prison governor to start up the federal center for juveniles, followed by managing two other prisons in the Northern part of the country. Since 2020, she is working as the Project Leader on designing and implementing new prison officers roles in the new prisons as well as in the small scale detention houses.

Laurence Nibelle

Director, Detention Administration Department, Project Leader, Detention House, Belgium Prison Service - Justice Department, Belgium

Laurence Nibelle graduated at the University of UCL in Criminology. She started as a social worker in the Prison of Saint-Gilles and Ittre in 2000. A few years later, she joined the management team of the National Electronic Monitoring Centre. In 2007, she joined the team of the Central Psychosocial Service as a social work inspector. Since Februari 2021, she took over the management of the detention administration department and agreed to be the project leader for the detention houses project. The reflection on the adequacy of the regime of detention of the prisoners with regard to the required level of security as well as the concern of the reintegration of the prisoners are among her topics of interest.

Advancing Corrections Journal - Edition #17 - Designing a Humane Corrections: Possibilities and Challenges (ACJ17-A004)

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