To fight overpopulation in French jails, prime minister Michel Barnier wants to introduce short prison sentences and to make greater use of community service, administrative fines and fixed penalties for criminal offences. The Netherlands has a lot of experience with short and alternative community sentences and is making use of the so called electronic ankle bracelet.
The number of prisoners in France reached a new record on 1 September, with 78,969 people incarcerated, according to Ministry of Justice figures published on Monday 30 September. Thousands of prisoners have to sleep on the floor.
To fight the overpopulation the French prime minister Michel Barnier mentioned a proposal to introduce ‘short and immediate prison sentences’ for certain offences during his general policy speech. He also stated that France should ‘make greater use of community service, administrative fines and fixed penalties for criminal offences’.
For a news reportage TF1 reporter Jeanne Quancard wants to visit the Netherlands that has a lot of experience with short and alternative community sentences and where the so called electronic ankle bracelet is in use that makes it possible for a convicted person to serve the last part of the sentence at home.
In the Netherlands there is a small breakthrough in prison land: coalition parties VVD and NSC are opening the door to the ankle bracelet as a punishment as a substitute for short prison sentences, where it is currently only used for surveillance.
The Netherlands also has capacity problems in prisons, but due to a shortage of staff. This results in many convicts not being jailed because there is no place for them in the Dutch prisons. As many as 3445 convicts (together accounting for 493 years in prison) are not under lock and key, but are simply sitting at home. And some are now even ‘untraceable’.
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