Police in the Brussels-South police zone of the capital are being reinforced by federal police officers in coming weeks. The aim is to tackle feelings of insecurity in the capital. ‘10 to 15 additional officers from the federal reserve are being made available,’ says police chief Jurgen De Landsheer. They will mainly be deployed in neighbourhoods most affected by anti-social behaviour resulting from the growing drug problem in the Belgian capital.
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Extra officers from the federal reserve to tackle anti-social behaviour in Brussels
Colin Clapson
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The federal intervention reserve (Feres) includes especially trained personnel and is normally only deployed in national disasters or situations of extreme emergencies. From now on, Feres units will also patrol the streets of Brussels.
‘It is quite unusual, but then the situation at the moment is very serious,’ explains police chief Jurgen De Landsheer. He is thinking of the many shootings, increased violence, and the anti-social behaviour caused by the growing drug problem in the capital.
The Brussels-South police zone will receive assistance from 10 to 15 additional officers from the Federal Reserve. ‘We will be able to call on them, but they may not always be available because they may also have to attend other emergencies. ’
When the extra officers are available, they will be deployed in the most acute ‘problem neighbourhoods’. ‘People in certain neighbourhoods are really at their wits' end. They are tired of the anti-social behaviour caused by drug deals’ the officer explains.
Major strategic plan
The extra officers are part of a ‘big strategic plan’ to increase security in the capital, the police chief of the Brussels-South police zone notes.
Together with officers from the Brussels police service, the federal officers will help to increase a sense of security in the police zone. They will also try to tackle anti-social behaviour caused by the drug problem by carrying out extra checks and arresting dealers.
They will also help to increase efforts to tackle the drug problem via the courts. ‘Investigations targeting major drug trafficking operations are being carried out together with the federal judicial police,’ he said.
The situation is 'serious but not hopeless’
It is a pilot project for now. ‘We are going to explore how we can deploy our means effectively and efficiently and in a few weeks an evaluation will follow. Have we deployed everyone well? Isn’t it too stressful for some officers? Do we need to work differently? And then we will also see how to proceed.’
‘If there are enough police officers and they are deployed properly, we can limit anti-social behaviour’ says police chief Jurgen De Landsheer.
The main signal De Landsheer wants to send to people in Brussels in the coming weeks is that the situation ‘is not hopeless’. ‘We want to show that we can make a difference when we have enough police officers.’ Because right now that is not the case. Brussels police currently do not have enough people to be on the ground everywhere.
‘If there are enough police officers and they are deployed properly, we can reduce anti-social behaviour,’ De Landsheer stresses.