In Ghent, police are paying extra attention to a new phenomenon. In some neighbourhoods youngsters have taken to kicking in frontdoors. The Ghent city authorities are not yet ready to speak of a trend, but they are noticing it happening more and more often.
‘It is too early to speak of a real trend, but the phenomenon has indeed appeared recently in several neighbourhoods,’ says mayor Mathias De Clercq. ‘People have been reporting it and also filing complains, but there are no exact figure just yet.'
‘It’s a focus of attention in our broad neighbourhood approach. The police also ask victims always to file a complaint. It remains important to report suspicious situations.'
‘Hellish form of doorbell ringing’
Ghent councillor Cammaert reports that the phenomenon is occuring in the Muide-Meulestede neighbourhood as well as around the Van Beverenplein. ‘We are hearing stories of damaged doors and broken letterboxes. There is often major damage. It is a kind of hellish form of “doorbell ringing”. This should be dealt with more harshly.'
'It is not just mischief. It is also very frightening for the victims. I hear that it sometimes happens at night too. People feel scared. This cannot be allowed to continue,' Councillor Cammaert concludes.
Blown over from abroad?
Scenes of doors being kicked in regularly pop up on social media abroad. It has been a trend in the US for a while now, especially among students. It is unclear whether youngsters in Ghent are imitating these videos.