Federal judicial police expands with 15 agents to combat Brussels drug violence
As of Monday, the Federal Judicial Police in Brussels will have 15 more officers, Interior and Security minister Bernard Quintin announced on Thursday. The extra officers will help investigate the recent drug violence in the Belgian capital.
In addition, all investigations into illegal arms trafficking will now be coordinated nationally, Quintin said. This follows a request from investigators to step up the fight against illegal arms trafficking.
The announcement comes after repeated warnings of a lack of capacity in the Federal Judicial Police. On Tuesday, Brussels public prosecutor Julien Moinil outlined the police's "catastrophic" lack of capacity in the Brussels parliament.
Jurgen De Landsheer, chief of police of the Brussels South police zone, echoed this call, along with the mayors of Anderlecht, Forest and Saint-Gilles, during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
"Our local criminal investigation department is carrying out a huge number of investigations for which it doesn't really have the manpower," they said. "The Federal Railway Police, which is in charge of the metro stations, should finally be strengthened as well."
De Landsheer added that, due to various circumstances, the drug unit of the local criminal investigation department has consisted of only five people in recent weeks. "Although they have the support of our entire criminal investigation department, which consists of about 70 people."
Insufficient measures
A variety of measures have been introduced to curb the violence. The Brussels South police zone was reinforced by about 20 officers from the federal reserve. The railway police also received 30 extra officers to ensure the safety of people in metro stations. The hotspot strategy was extended, and police zones were temporarily merged.
But these measures are not enough. The Anderlecht community is plagued by shootings, part of a territorial dispute between drug gangs, which have left several dead and injured.
"You cannot promise that the drug violence will stop in the short term"
Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever has said he is prepared to approve additional measures if Quintin and Justice minister Annelies Verlinden deem them necessary. But he also warns that the violence is unlikely to subside any time soon.
"You cannot promise that the drug violence will stop in the short term," he told VRT on Thursday. "Unfortunately, this is a fight that we did not give the necessary urgency to 20, 25 years ago."
© BELGA PHOTO JAMES ARTHUR GEKIERE
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