Eric Maes

• PhD Criminology
• Senior Researcher at National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology

Doctor in de Criminologische Wetenschappen OE Strafrecht en Criminologie Faculteit Rechtsgeleerdheid Faculteit Rechtsgeleerdheid Doctoral thesis Doctoraatsthesis

Prisoner victimization introduces significant challenges to penal institutions worldwide. Researchers across the globe already provided extensive knowledge on risk factors from community crime theories for prison victimization. Other scholars are focusing on prison climate. The present study contributes to previous works by exploring both the role...

This study contributes to the existing literature dedicated to the empirical classification of homicide offenders. Utilizing an empirical method grounded in the criminal career framework, our aim was to enhance understanding of the diversity of the criminal pathways leading to homicide. We analysed the criminal careers of 5475 individuals convicted...

*** in: Tijdschrift voor Strafrecht, Jurisprudentie, nieuwe wetgeving en doctrine voor de praktijk, 25(6), 475-505. ISSN 1379-4930 *** Abstract ENG: This article analyses (more than) 25 years of sentence implementation in Belgium. As this is a broad domain, thematic choices have been made. Therefore, the article focusses on prison sentences, probat...

The recidivism of people convicted of terrorism remains a major concern. Paradoxically, few studies have been carried out on this subject yet. What do we know about it? This paper presents the results of a study on recidivism among people convicted of terrorism in Belgium (n = 463), based on data from the Belgian Central Criminal Record. Based on a...

In this contribution we present results of an analysis of the use of ‘flight risk’ (or the risk of absconding) as a criterion within pre-trial (detention) proceeding. These results come from a regional research (as part of the EU-funded Flightrisk-project, coordinated by Fair Trials), in which we used two data collection methods: a literature revie...

This chapter highlights the diversity of approaches and measures taken to avoid pre-trial detention in prison in the countries sampled and explores the different forms of bail conditions and ‘less severe measures’ as they are called elsewhere. Measures discussed include financial bail, judicial supervision and electronic monitoring. The risk of ne...

Belgium means well. For many years, various laws have been adopted with the aim of curbing pre-trial detention, but its use remains problematic, while the spectre of mass supervision is looming as a result of the increased use of alternative coercive measures. The problem is well known, thanks in particular to the scientific research carried out fo...

La présence de drogue en prison constitue une réalité complexe difficile à endiguer. L’ampleur de la consommation de drogues chez les détenus affecte leur santé physique et mentale, leurs relations sociales et, inévitablement, leurs projets de réinsertion. https://www.secunews.be/fr/themes-fr/securite-acteurs-et-cadre-reglementaire/5733-la-drogue-...

*** In: secunews.be (online) ***

By comparing criminal careers of individuals who have sexually offended to those who have not sexually offended, the current study examines whether their criminal career parameters and trajectories differ. National conviction records (entire criminal history and about 18 years of follow-up after index offence) from Belgium and the Netherlands are u...

In: Justice & sécurité/Justitie & veiligheid (JSJV), #20 (januari 2023) *** Het zorgaanbod voor gedetineerde drugsgebruikers is ontoereikend in België. Daarom heeft de Federale Overheidsdienst Volksgezondheid in samenwerking met de Federale Overheidsdienst Justitie in december 2017 een pilootproject opgezet in drie Belgische gevangenissen voor de...

In: Justice & sécurité/Justitie & veiligheid (JSJV), #20 (janvier 2023) https://nicc.fgov.be/upload/publicaties/jsjv20_fr.pdf *** En Belgique, l’offre de soins proposée aux détenus consommateurs de drogues est insuffisante. Partant de ce constat, le Service Public Fédéral Santé publique, en collaboration avec le Service Public Fédéral Justice a m...

In: Contemporanea, Tijdschrift van de Belgische Vereniging voor Nieuwste Geschiedenis, XXXVIII (nr. 3), https://www.contemporanea.be/nl/article/20223recensiemaesprisons

In the context of the group of cases Vasilescu v. Belgium (leading case - application no. 64682/12), the Belgian authorities have submitted in March 2022 an action plan with several measures to tackle overcrowding and degrading conditions of detention in Belgian penitentiary facilities. They emphasises also the need for alternatives to (pre-trial)...

Belgium does not yet have any periodical reconviction studies or statistics on reconviction on a national scale. Nevertheless, over the past decade, especially within the NICC, investments have been made in the development of research on recidivism and criminal careers. Recent developments, such as the creation of a specialised NICC-research unit o...

The accumulation of sentences remains a poorly documented aspect of the implementation of sentences. It involves both the simultaneous enforcement of sentences of the same nature (e.g. several prison sentences) and sentences of a different nature (e.g. a prison sentence and work penalty). The cases that arise in practice are in fact very diverse an...

In Belgium, the care offered to prisoners who use drugs is being in development. Based on this observation, the Federal Public Service for Public Health, in collaboration with the Federal Public Service for Justice, have set up a pilot project since December 2017 aiming at the care of this specific population in three prisons of the country. The ob...

For the past 10 years, Belgium has made some investments in research projects to close a nationwide knowledge gap on recidivism and criminal careers. One of these projects aims at producing reliable statistics on these phenomena, on the basis of an Integrated Historical Database (IHD). The data to feed into the IHD was extracted from a conviction d...

See also: https://forumlevenslang.nl/nieuws/workshop-a-conditional-release-procedure-for-life-prisoners-an-international-comparative-approach/

In: e-legal, Revue de droit et de criminologie de l'Université libre de Bruxelles *** https://e-legal.ulb.be/volume-n06/la-peine-ne-s-arrete-pas-a-la-sortie-de-prison/le-cumul-des-peines-dans-un-contexte-de-sortie-de-prison *** Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ecDy3-rCHk&t=768s *** Powerpoint: https://grepec.usaintlouis.be/wp-content/uploads...

In: Fatik, Tijdschrift voor Strafbeleid en Gevangeniswezen, 39 (nr. 173, januari-februari-maart 2022), 19-27.

https://gompel-svacina.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2022_01_20_Webinar_NL_Maes_Thema_1.pdf

https://gompel-svacina.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2022_01_20_Webinar_NL_Maes_Context-en-stand-van-zaken.pdf

[ENG] In Belgium, the calculation, execution and accumulation of sentences and measures raise numerous questions. For those directly involved and their families, it is often a very radical but inextricable tangle. Even many insiders within the world of justice often have no answer. - When does the (custodial) sentence handed down by the judge begi...

[ENG] In Belgium, the calculation, execution and accumulation of sentences and measures raise numerous questions. For those directly involved and their families, it is often a very radical but inextricable tangle. Even many insiders within the world of justice often have no answer. - When does the (custodial) sentence handed down by the judge begi...

In: Maes, E. & Jonckheere, A. (Eds.). Strafberekening, uitvoering en cumul van straffen (pp. 85-130). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-343-6

In: Maes, E. & Jonckheere, A. (Eds.). Strafberekening, uitvoering en cumul van straffen (pp. 15-18). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-343-6

In Maes, E. & Jonckheere, A. (Eds.). Strafberekening, uitvoering en cumul van straffen (pp. 19-46). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-343-6

In Maes, E. & Jonckheere, A. (Eds.). Strafberekening, uitvoering en cumul van straffen (pp. 209-211). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-343-6

In Jonckheere, A. & Maes, E. (Eds.). Calcul, exécution et cumul des peines (pp. 81-124). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-344-3

In Jonckheere, A. & Maes, E. (Eds.). Calcul, exécution et cumul des peines (pp. 13-16). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-344-3

In Jonckheere, A. & Maes, E. (Eds.). Calcul, exécution et cumul des peines (pp. 17-44). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-344-3

In Jonckheere, A. & Maes, E. (Eds.). Calcul, exécution et cumul des peines (pp. 199-201). Antwerpen/’s-Hertogenbosch: Gompel&Svacina. ISBN 978-94-6371-344-3

In: Justice & sécurité/Justitie & veiligheid (JSJV) https://nicc.fgov.be/upload/publicaties/jsjv18_fr.pdf

In: Justice & sécurité/Justitie & veiligheid (JSJV), #18 (december 2021) https://nicc.fgov.be/upload/publicaties/jsjv18_nl_0.pdf

Le cumul des peines reste un aspect de l’exécution des peines peu documenté. Nombreux sont les acteurs qui concourent à cette exécution, avec des pratiques parfois différenciées en raison d’interprétations divergentes, de l’influence de la coutume et d’un cadre normatif relativement lacunaire. Dans cette présentation nous interrogeons ainsi la faço...

In this article, the decision-making process of prison leave is discussed, and a discussion is given of the current impact of covid 19-measures for prison leave.

In: Fatik, Tijdschrift voor Strafbeleid en Gevangeniswezen, 38 (nr. 169, januari-februari-maart 2021), 16-22. *** In deze bijdrage blikken we terug op recente wijzigingen in de besluitvorming omtrent uitgaansvergunningen (verder: UV) en penitentiaire verloven (verder: PV). Als startpunt nemen we de bevindingen van een onderzoek uit 2012-2013 dat do...

In: Panopticon, Tijdschrift voor strafrecht, criminologie en forensisch welzijnswerk, 42(2), 97-115. ISSN 0771-1409 *** Phoning behind bars. An exploratory study into in-cell telephony *** Abstract: Information and communication technologies have begun to enter into the penitentiary systems, adding a digital dimension to the detention experience (M...

In: Panopticon, Tijdschrift voor strafrecht, criminologie en forensisch welzijnswerk, 42(2), 189-195.

In: Panopticon, Tijdschrift voor strafrecht, criminologie en forensisch welzijnswerk, 42(1), 1-6.

in: Newsletter CEP (Confederation of European Probation), October 2020 https://www.cep-probation.org/dealing-with-crime-in-ordinary-times-as-in-times-of-crisis-a-solution-to-reduce-pre-trial-detention/

In: Neue Zeitschrift für Kriminologie und Kriminalpolitik/Nouvelle Revue de Criminologie et de Politique Pénale/New Journal of Criminology and Crime Policy, 2020, 1(1), 5-11. *** In Belgien nehmen die Formen von strafprozessualen Interventionsformen, die vor einer Verurteilung zur Anwendung kommen können, sog. strafprozessuale Ersatzmassnahmen, ei...

In: Fatik, Tijdschrift voor Strafbeleid en Gevangeniswezen, 37 (nr. 166, april-mei-juni 2020), 12-18. ISSN 0772-5167

Purpose This paper aims to report the findings of an evaluation study concerning the Central Registration Points (CRPs) for drug users in Belgian prisons. CRPs support drug users to link with community-based services. Design/methodology/approach The study applied a multi-method approach that involved an exploratory literature review; a secondary a...

Sexual offenses are often part of a larger criminal career also encompassing nonsexual crimes. However, most sexual offending typologies focus on an individual’s most recent sexual offense. We compare data from Belgian and Dutch national conviction cohorts and use latent class analysis to distinguish groups of individuals based on their history of...

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 ab...

In: Panopticon, Tijdschrift voor strafrecht, criminologie en forensisch welzijnswerk, 41(1), 10-41 *** Prison overcrowding dominates penal policies and sentence implementation in Belgium for about three decades and will probably continue to do so in the future. This article describes and analyses Belgian sentence implementation policies of the last...

Daders van zedendelicten worden vaak getypeerd op basis van een specifiek delict, bijvoorbeeld het laatst door hen gepleegde zedendelict. Het is onduidelijk of typologieën van deze daders op basis van hun criminele voorgeschiedenis hierbij aansluiten of tot nieuwe inzichten leiden. Deze studie identificeert verschillende typen criminele carrièrepat...

This book marks the 20th anniversary of the Department of Criminology of the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC). On the occasion of this anniversary, a series of research seminars were organised, during which NICC researchers, practitioners and international experts engaged in a dialogue on several key research themes. They...

The result of a year of work, deep thought and moments of camaraderie, this book marks the 20th anniversary of the Criminology Department of the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC). For just over one year, the members of the Criminology Department looked back to their past, but they especially tried to project themselves int...

Pre-trial detention has received almost continuous attention since the creation of the Department of Criminology of the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC). Many research projects have focused on this exceptional measure – considered an ultimum remedium – and the alternatives designed to limit its use. The scientific interes...

As a (mainly) applied research department, the Criminology Department of the National Institute of Criminalistics and Criminology (NICC) has only recently begun addressing questions related to recidivism, since 2011-2012. Although this was largely unplanned, a posteriori several reasons for this shifting research attention to recidivism can be ment...

In: Champ Pénal/Penal Field, Vol. 16, (online, 22 November 2019). ISSN 1777-5272 https://journals.openedition.org/champpenal/11099

The overuse of pre-trial detention and problems of prison overcrowding resulted in the adoption of new legislation on pre-trial detention in Belgium in 1990. One of the major innovations was the introduction of the measure of ‘release under conditions’ (an alternative for issuing or prolonging an arrest warrant) which gives investigating judges/cou...

In: Fatik, Tijdschrift voor Strafbeleid en Gevangeniswezen, 36 (nr. 163, juli-augustus-september), 5-13. ISSN 0772-5167. Eind december 2012 werd het elektronisch toezicht in het Belgisch recht ingevoerd als modaliteit van uitvoering van een aanhoudingsmandaat. Daarmee werd een nieuw hoofdstuk gebreid aan de expansie van het elektronisch toezicht al...

Objective. Every year 7,3 million people are killed in traffic worldwide. Human error and non-compliance to the rules are the most important causes for serious traffic accidents. The objective of the present study is therefore to determine the profiles and risk factors associated with traffic (re)offending in Belgium. Method. The data originate fr...

In 1990 Belgium adopted new legislation on pre-trial detention. Besides procedural adaptations strengthening the rights of the defence, an important innovation concerned the introduction of the measure of ‘release under conditions’. This alternative for issuing or prolonging an arrest warrant gave investigating judges/courts the opportunity to rele...

[Omschrijving uitgeverij die Keure]: “Brieven aan jonge criminologen” is een mooi geïllustreerd boek dat 41 brieven bevat van criminologen op een hoogtepunt in hun carrière, gericht aan jonge criminologen die er net aan beginnen. Het boek illustreert de diversiteit aan beroepsuitwegen voor (jonge) criminologen en laat zien dat criminologen van alle...

In: Champ pénal/Penal Field, 16/2019 (online) *** https://journals.openedition.org/champpenal/10921 *** Pretrial Detention in Belgium. An Empirical Study of Explanatory Factors of the Use of the Arrest Warrant and its Length *** This paper presents the main results of an empirical study aiming at providing an explanation of the evolutions of t...

In: Panopticon, 40(4), 237-253

http://www.belspo.be/belspo/brain-be/themes_4_Strategic_en.stm#SOC *** Context *** Sex offences have attracted a lot of public and policy attention in the last decades. In Belgium, the Dutroux case led to unseen public protests and important policy changes. Elsewhere, similar horrifying events have taken place, also affecting in important ways po...

The right to liberty is recognized to everyone until the moment of his conviction. This principle, however, is subject to exceptions, particularly in view of the need for the investigation of judicial cases. Pre-trial detention and less severe measures than incarceration can thus be ordered but an observation of practices in seven European countrie...

In this article we describe the recidivism, in Belgium, of incarcerated alcohol- and/or drug users who were referred to the prison-based registration points (PbRP) between 2011 and 2013 and subsequently were released from prison (n= 2,758). The prison based registration points engage in continuity and support between prison and the community throug...

in: Panopticon, 40(1), 29-45 (ISSN 0771-1409) Title: PrisonCloud for inmates. Limits to digital normalization? Abstract: Digital media and technology are affecting our lives in profound ways. The ongoing digitalization has even been called a new industrial revolution. For a long time, prisons have been considered as total institutions. Social devel...

In the aftermath of several affairs of sexual abuse, over the last decades in Belgium practical initiatives and policy measures have been developed that target sex offenders. Until recently, little was known in Belgium about the prevalence and nature of recidivism of sex offenders. In this presentation, statistics about recidivism and risk factors...

In the aftermath of several affairs of sexual abuse, over the last decades in Belgium practical initiatives and policy measures have been developed that target sex offenders. Until recently, little was known in our country about the prevalence and nature of recidivism of sex offenders. In this contribution, statistics about recidivism and risk fact...

in: Tijdschrift voor Criminologie, 2018, (60)4, 542-546

Since long, the delinquency of sex offenders has been the focus of many assumptions. These include the ideas that sex offenders are prone to commit new offences, that they are repeating (identical) sex offences and that they do not seize to offend. Such ideas suggest sex offenders are a distinct group. Based on the study of criminal careers of sex...

La surveillance électronique séduit actuellement de nombreux pays européens. Dans le cadre des mesures présentencielles, elle est mobilisée, soit comme mesure alternative à la détention préventive, soit comme modalité d’exécution des mandats d’arrêt. La contribution vise à présenter les usages actuels de la surveillance électronique dans 7 pays eur...

The main objective of the SOCPREV research was to gain a good insight into a subject that has been rarely studied in Belgium, namely the content and the evaluation methods of good and promising practices aimed at the social prevention of drug-related crime in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia (Strebelle 2002: 73). The research was conducted between A...

The main objective of the SOCPREV research was to gain a good insight into a subject that has been rarely studied in Belgium, namely the content and the evaluation methods of good and promising practices aimed at the social prevention of drug-related crime in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia (Strebelle 2002: 73). The research was conducted between A...

The aim of our research was to understand what factors shape the use of PTD, how it actually is justified in practice and whether these justifications are convincing in the light of the two basic human rights guarantees. The study was conducted in seven countries: Austria (AT), Belgium (BE), Germany (DE), Ireland (IE), Lithuania (LT), the Netherlan...