Structuring Discretion Among Belgium’s Prison Leave Decision-makers

Prison leave decision-making remains largely unknown, operating as a black box in which applications enter and decisions come out, without knowing what happens in between. Prison leave decision-making in Belgium is no exception to this. After a prisoner submits an application for prison leave, the p...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Robert, Luc (Author)
Contributors: Jonckheere, Alexia ; Maes, Eric ; Mine, Benjamin
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: [2020]
In: European journal on criminal policy and research
Year: 2020, Volume: 26, Issue: 2, Pages: 265-283
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
Volltext (Resolving-System)
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:

MARC

LEADER 00000naa a22000002 4500
001 1727652304
003 DE-627
005 20200824094458.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 200824s2020 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1007/s10610-020-09444-5  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1727652304 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1727652304 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
100 1 |a Robert, Luc  |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)115080940X  |0 (DE-627)1011059185  |0 (DE-576)360358373  |4 aut 
109 |a Robert, Luc 
245 1 0 |a Structuring Discretion Among Belgium’s Prison Leave Decision-makers 
264 1 |c [2020] 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a Prison leave decision-making remains largely unknown, operating as a black box in which applications enter and decisions come out, without knowing what happens in between. Prison leave decision-making in Belgium is no exception to this. After a prisoner submits an application for prison leave, the prison director has to provide a written opinion about it, which is then sent on to the Service for the Management of Imprisonment (SMI), which decides whether a prisoner should obtain prison leave. Five years after implementing the legislation, the Directorate General of Penitentiary Institutions mandated a national study of prison leave decision-making practices. The study showed that both key actors, prison directors and the SMI, used their own highly discretionary approach to decision-making. There was little transparency regarding the other actor’s approach, fuelling mutual misunderstanding and frustrations about the other actor’s decisions. Since then, attempts have been made to structure discretionary decision-making. In this article, we first outline the types of prison leave as they have come into existence since 2006. Next, key observations of the first national study are given, as they set the scene for what came afterwards. We then go on to reconstruct steps in an ongoing process of structuring discretionary decision-making. These have led to an increased proportion of prison leaves being granted, with more concordance in decision-making between prison directors and staff at the SMI. We conclude the article by linking the Belgian practice to wider debates about decision-making. 
700 1 |a Jonckheere, Alexia  |e VerfasserIn  |4 aut 
700 1 |a Maes, Eric  |e VerfasserIn  |4 aut 
700 1 |a Mine, Benjamin  |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)1043324003  |0 (DE-627)770441661  |0 (DE-576)394657020  |4 aut 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t European journal on criminal policy and research  |d Dordrecht [u.a.] : Springer Science + Business Media B.V, 1993  |g 26(2020), 2, Seite 265-283  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)320528197  |w (DE-600)2015435-5  |w (DE-576)121465713  |x 1572-9869  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:26  |g year:2020  |g number:2  |g pages:265-283 
856 |u https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8678875/file/8678876  |x unpaywall  |z Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang  |h repository [oa repository (via OAI-PMH doi match)] 
856 4 0 |u http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10610-020-09444-5  |x Resolving-System  |3 Volltext 
936 u w |d 26  |j 2020  |e 2  |h 265-283 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 3742284525 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1727652304 
LOK |0 005 20200824094458 
LOK |0 008 200824||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-21-110  |c DE-627  |d DE-21-110 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 689   |a s  |a Discretionary decision-making 
LOK |0 689   |a s  |a Prison leave 
LOK |0 689   |a s  |a Sentenced prisoners 
LOK |0 689   |a s  |a Prison director 
LOK |0 689   |a s  |a Service for the Management of Imprisonment 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-21-110 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a krub  |a krzo 
OAS |a 1 
ORI |a SA-MARC-krimdoka001.raw