ABSTRACT
Belgium, as most west European countries, is faced with an increasing prison population, in which long-term prisoners form an ever-growing proportion. This observation was the starting point for our study on the problem of longterm imprisonment. 1 While we are conscious that the size and characteristics of prison populations result from a complex interaction of different factors (Snacken, Beyens and Tubex 1995), in this study we concentrate on the (changes in) criminal legislation.
