Brussels-South police get reinforcements from federal police

The Brussels-South police zone is receiving reinforcements from the Federal Reserve police to tackle drug-related violence in the streets, reported Flemish newspaper Het Nieuwsblad. The Federal Reserve normally only intervenes in national disasters or situations “of high emergency”.

Brussels has already seen a record 74 shootings this year, more than in the whole year 2023, the previous record year. Most of the shootings are related to the expanding drug war between gangs.

Several Brussels mayors previously have in the past called for federal police to be deployed, “to take the neighbourhoods back”. Since the beginning of this week, this has been happening and the Federal Reserve has been deployed in the streets of Anderlecht, Saint-Gilles and Forest. It involves three patrols of two per shift, three shifts per day. The special deployment of 18 officers daily would last until at least the end of this month.

“It’s at our request,” said Brussels-South chief of police Jurgen De Landsheer. “After the shootings of recent times, we want to bring security back to the streets through an increased presence. In the well-known Peterbos hotspot, we have been doing this on our own for some time and we are seeing some results: things are calming down, to the great satisfaction of the residents. Thanks to the help of the federal police, we can now do even more.”

“We greatly appreciate the federal help, especially since our zone has a 20 per cent staff shortage, despite all the recruitment efforts,” said De Landsheer, who is evaluating the deployment of the federal police within a month. “I am realistic: we cannot eradicate the drug problem, but we can reduce the nuisance and make the streets safer. The situation is not hopeless.”

^{Police in Saint-Gilles, Brussels, February 2024 © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK}