Hotline PortWatch.be received 90 reports of suspicious situations at Belgian ports last year. The lion's share of these reports were made anonymously. A new campaign ‘Have you seen something suspicious? Speak Up!’ is being launched to make the hotline better known to everyone connected to Belgian ports.
The central hotline portwatch.be , allows anyone to report suspicious situations in the ports of Antwerp, Ghent, Zeebrugge and Ostend. For example, concerns about vehicles or ships stopping in unusual places and people doing a recce around containers and ships.
During the first year of its operation, 77 of the 90 reports to the hotline were made anonymously. ‘That you can voice a concern without revealing your name is important,’ emphasises Belgian justice minister Annelies Verlinden (Flemish Christian democrat/CD&V).
‘We sometimes see that there are reprisals involving gangs of organised criminals. Sometimes they settle accounts. If we could not guarantee the anonymity of those who are filing a report, we would not be guaranteeing their safety. Anonymity is very strict.’
‘Every report can make a difference in stopping crime,’ the minister assures us. Something will be done. ‘Anyone reporting a concern can rest assured that every report is followed up. The police will deal with it.’
Getting more people to report their suspicions
The hotline has only been in existence for one year. The justice minister wants the hotline to become better known and xto make it more accessible.
Soon the website portwatch.be will also become available in German and Spanish. Today it is only available in 3 languages: English, Dutch and French. In addition, the aim from now on is to mobilise more people to report their suspicions. Not only dockworkers at the port itself, but also the users of inland waterways, fishermen and office workers at the port.