Security Monitor survey: 1 in 5 Brussels residents feel unsafe in neighbourhood
19 per cent of Brussels residents often or always feel unsafe in their neighbourhood, show figures from a new Security Monitor survey. The increasing feeling of insecurity is linked to drug nuisance and drug crime. Interior minister Bernard Quintin calls the figures “worrying” and pleads again for the unification of the six Brussels police zones.
The new Security Monitor - a survey among almost 150,000 people - shows that across Belgium just under 10 per cent of the people often or always feel unsafe in their neighbourhood. In Flanders the figure is 7 per cent, in Wallonia 13 per cent and in Brussels 19 per cent.
“In some Brussels neighbourhoods, a lot of problems come together"
Interior minister Bernard Quintin emphasised that it is worrying that this feeling of insecurity in Brussels is increasing. In the previous Security Monitor from 2021, the figure for Brussels was 16 per cent. “In some Brussels neighbourhoods, a lot of problems come together: nuisance caused by drugs, intimidation on the streets, damage to vehicles, fly-tipping… We need a structural response to that,” said the minister.
Unification of police zones
“For me it is clear: the fragmentation of six police zones in Brussels is no longer tenable,” Quintin added. “We need an integrated approach: one policy, one vision, one strategy, working both at the policy level and on the ground.”
“The situation in the capital is complex. Only together can we succeed”
Quintin wants to move forward “very quickly” with the project to merge the Brussels police zones. Such a unified police zone should lead to more intervention capacity and more neighbourhood officers. He also called for a regional security plan, drawn up by the public prosecutor's office, federal police and local police zones. “The situation in the capital is complex. It requires cooperation, clarity and determination. Only together can we succeed.”
Cleanliness
The minister also called for more attention to cleanliness. “Visible squalor, such as broken windows, fly-tipping and vacancy, fosters feelings of unsafety and petty crime. Investing in cleanliness, infrastructure and maintenance also increases feelings of safety.”
Interior minister Bernard Quintin and federal police general commissioner Eric Snoeck © BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM
Related news
