Safety
Feeling at home starts with feeling safe.
The problem
Brussels is a fantastic city full of life and activity: beautiful parks, cultural and leisure opportunities, sports clubs, schools, and businesses...In our capital, you can enjoy yourself to the full, develop all your talents and live a good life.
But the city does not always feel safe. Or is in fact downright unsafe in some places.
According to Vooruit.brussels, every inhabitant of Brussels has a right to safety. Because the city belongs to everyone. We want a city where you can walk the streets in peace, everywhere and at all hours of the day. A city where, whether you are a woman, man, or x, you have the freedom to be who you are regardless of your sexual orientation, religion, social class, legal status, age, or disability. A city where emergency services can do their job without problems. In short, a city 'for the many, not the few'.for the many, not the few’.
This requires a strong safety policy.
Police, security services and justice should run like a well-oiled machine. That is not the case today. Police work does not get to the finish line because the courts and the Brussels prosecutor's office cannot cope. Central control of law enforcement is lacking. The six police zones work alongside each other and not in collaboration because there is no central command. At the same time, the drugs issue puts heavy strains on our society and makes Brussels a city to be avoided.
The consequences
- Open drug use is growing and reaching dangerous proportions. It is highly visible in the streets and at public transport stations.
- Organised drug related crime is increasingly aggressive. Shootings and settlements in the world of drugs are - unfortunately - almost weekly occurrences.
- There is a fragmented safety policy, while the courts cannot keep up. As a result, impunity seems to become the norm.
What does Vooruit.brussels want?
A city ‘for the many, not the few.’ Vooruit.brussels stands for a comprehensive approach to safety. With the Minister-President of the Brussels Capital Region at the helm.
- Command lies with the Minister-President, who represents Brussels to the federal government. This is vital when it concerns issues that exceed the capacity of the local police (drugs issue, arms trafficking, terrorism, human trafficking, organised house burglary and other property crimes).
- More strength for the regional security service Brussels under the leadership of the High Officer as well as further expansion of the crisis centre. In major crises, overview and central control are crucial. Consider the attack on three Swedish football supporters on 16/10/23, where the safe.brussels crisis centre proved particularly useful.
- Bringing together six police zones into a single zone chaired by the Minister-President.
Local police close to the citizens
- To ensure safety, repression is needed. Offenders must be punished. At the same time, prevention is needed through proximity policing. They are the eyes and ears of the neighbourhood.
- Neighbourhood officers on foot and on bicycles, LISAs (Local Integrated Security Antennas) per neighbourhood (= easily accessible services).
- More diversity in the police force, for instance through pre-training for Brussels youth. Also make it possible for candidates to obtain their drivers' licence during their training. Not having a drivers' licence is a barrier. Many young people in Brussels do not have one and obtaining one is expensive.
- Work on professional profiling. Stop ethnic profiling. When certain groups are repeatedly targeted without good arguments, confidence in law enforcement decreases.
- A clear and uniform protocol to notify family members when there is a casualty in a police action. One single protocol for all police zones (pending the achievement of one police zone).
- Uniform policy on the use of 'bodycams' and better training on this topic, as there is currently too little knowledge.
- Update of the KUL standard for more local officers. The standard dates from 1999, the number of inhabitants of the Brussels Region increased by a third, while the number of police officers did not keep up.
Reinforcement of prosecutor's office and chain approach
- Reinforcement prosecutor's office (because understaffed) and chain approach: sentences must also be executed, otherwise impunity prevails.
- Criminals should not be left unpunished. We must develop meaningful detention and provide aftercare, because one day people will be released again.
Paradigm shift on drugs
- Not seeing a substance user as a criminal, but as a person with an addiction who needs healthcare = saving work for prosecutors and police forces.
- Multiple-risk reduction drug user spaces like GATE (Brussels' first drug user space).
- We also set up small-scale and decentralised drug user spaces in places where public drug use is frequent. We start with a mobile risk-reducing drug user space that can move to problem areas.
- We focus on the criminals who make money from drug trafficking.
Traffic safety
- Zero tolerance for street racers and speeders.
- General direction for ANPR cameras and other public security cameras.
Fight against (sexual) harassment and intra-family violence
- One strong initiative around nightlife safety instead of today's separate and fragmented systems.
- More housing solutions for victims of domestic violence (women, youth LGBTQIA+ who are not safe at home).
- Safe design of public space as a place for all for greater social safety.
- Adequate attention and care for victims from the moment they complain to the police.
- Enlist pharmacists to report intra-family violence (as during the corona pandemic).
A city where it is 'good to live' is a safe city. Everyone should be able to move about freely and safely, day and night. That is why a tough, repressive approach to offenders and criminals is crucial. Those who cross the line must be punished. We do not tolerate impunity. But repression alone will not get us there. Prevention is needed, as well as addressing external factors with investments in welfare, jobs, and care. And finally: those who fall victim to crime deserve the best possible support.
Els Rochette