Over the past five years, at least 26 firearms, dozens of bulletproof vests and hundreds of ID cards have been lost or stolen from the police. This emerged from an investigation conducted by VRT NEWS.
Home News
At least 26 firearms lost or stolen from the police over five-year period
The actual figures may be higher, but due to poor record-keeping, the police cannot say with certainty how much equipment has gone missing, where it ended up, or whether it was ever recovered, according to VRT NEWS. Data from the federal police show that other materials, equipment and non-lethal weapons are also going missing. For example, 174 batons, 467 id cards and 57 communication devices including radios were lost or stolen between 2021 and 2025.
The 26 ‘missing firearms’ may be a significant underestimate. And the figures are disputed by VRT NEWS’s contacts within the police.
Federal lawmaker Matti Vandemaele (Flemish ecologist Groen) is also critical. “I have put the figures to my sources within the police. They indicate that they cannot be correct. A single police report may cover multiple firearms. Nobody knows exactly how many weapons are missing. The problem is bigger than we think and information is not being shared openly.”