Over 4,000 convicted criminals who should be in jail are living in freedom because there are not enough jail cells for them, current affairs show EenVandaag said on Tuesday.

The 4,000 have all been found guilty in court but let go until there is a prison place for them – which they will be notified of by letter.

The group does not include people convicted of crimes with a minimum jail term of 12 years or certain sex crimes but they do range from fraud and drugs smuggling to the possession of illegal weapons and public order offences.

In November 2023, the justice ministry stopped calling people in to serve their time in jail on a temporary basis because of the shortage of cells. At that point, 1,100 people were affected. But that has now risen to 4,109 people who face a total of 587 years in jail, EenVandaag said.

In 2013, the government closed 19 prisons in the Netherlands as a cost saving exercise because many were half empty. That measure led to hundreds of prison guards leaving the service – jobs which officials now are struggling to fill.

Junior justice minister Ingrid Coenradie told MPs last month that the Netherlands is now facing a shortage of cells, due in part to higher sentencing demands and more people waiting for a place in a secure psychiatric unit.

In December prison overcrowding prompted Conradie (PVV) to send prisoners home three days early to make room for other detainees. She is also exploring the idea of putting up emergency accommodation outside existing prisons and renting prison space in Estonia.