Fewer but larger police zones is one of the measures contained in the ambitious coalition agreement of PM Bart De Wever’s 5-way federal government. Interior Bernard Quintin (Francophone liberal MR) has now provided more details on how this will be realised.
Home News
Minister Quintin plans to reduce the number of police zones from 176 to 60
Colin Clapson
Published:
Updated:
‘I want to strengthen the police zones by pooling resources’ he told VRT News. ‘Both the intervention and community police forces need to be strengthened, because they are the two pillars on which a police zone rests.’
Unlike in Brussels, this merger of police zones will be voluntary in other parts of the country. ‘In Brussels, it is mandatory given our history: there, the merger of police zones was always seen as a steppingstone to the merger of the 19 different Brussels municipalities. But for me, that is a completely different issue,’ Quintin said.
Measure to allow the military to support the police 'being held up'
But Minister Quintin is struggling to implement measures to allow Belgian soldiers to be deployed in the community. According to the interior minister, these soldiers should reinforce the work of the police in Brussels and Antwerp. ‘It also sends an important political message to the population that the state is ready to use all its power to ensure the safety of our citizens.’
The issue of deploying soldiers on the streets is being held up because the Flemish Christian democrats are linking it to a different issue: the need for a solution for prison overcrowding.
The minister concedes overcrowding in prisons needs to be addressed. ‘But the solution must be acceptable to all government parties.’