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In 2001, the Belgian police underwent a fundamental structural reform that created a completely new police system. A Belgian parliamentary report into a series of pedophile murders accused the police of negligence, amateurism and incompetence in investigating the cases. The loss of public confidence in the police was so great that the whole population deemed the reform indispensable.
The three principal police forces, the municipal police, national police (Gendarmerie/Rijkswacht) and judicial police (assigned to the offices of the public prosecutors), gave way to an integrated police service structured on two levels (federal and local). Both forces are autonomous and subordinate to different authorities, but linked in regards to reciprocal support, recruitment, mobility of manpower and common training. The Belgian Gendarmerie (Dutch: ) was the national police force of Belgium until January 1, 2001. ...
The Federal Police The federal police have approximately 12,500 personnel. The Commissioner General is in charge of three operational divisions (the Administrative Police, the Criminal Investigation Department and Operational Support Unit) and is responsible for contacts with the local police, international police cooperation, integrated police operations, coordination and external communication. The federal police carry out the specialized police and investigation missions in Belgium and are responsible for missions that cover more than one region. They also provide support units for the local police and the federal police itself.
The Administrative Police (la police administrative/ De bestuurlijke politie) The Administrative Police is responsible for the traffic police on highways, policing ship navigation on the North Sea and on inland waterways, the policing of railroads and stations, airport police duties at the national airport and at five regional airports as well as for immigration control and border patrol.
The Administrative Police is also responsible for protection missions, money transport escorts and the protection of the Royal Palaces. It also coordinates the Belgian contribution to international humanitarian police missions.
Support is also supplied to local authorities and police services, for example, by giving to them personnel and specialized equipment (water cannon, mounted units) for the maintenance of law and order.
Finally, in every district, the headquarters of the administrative police possesses a coordination and support service or SCA. This SCA supports and coordinates the actions of administrative police where several police zones are involved.
The Criminal Investigation Department (police judiciaire/ gerechtelijke politie) The Criminal Investigation Department coordinates serious crime investigation at the central level. The cases handled are primarily crimes against persons (for example human trafficking or drug smuggling, etc.), property crime, as well as organized, economic and financial crime such as corruption.
In the field of economic and financial crime, this division leads its own inquiries. Furthermore, it also manages several specialized programs, such as the national management of informers, phone tapping and forensic and technical support. In every district, this division has a district judicial service called SJA subordinate to the authority of a judicial director. These specialized SJA investigators conduct inquiries for the magistrates.
Operational Support (appui opérationnel/ operationele ondersteuning) This department provides the local and federal police with specialized equipment and support. It maintains control over the DSU special units (SWAT and covert surveillance teams), the canine support service (DSCH), air support service (DSAS) and the national criminfo database (DSB). DSU logo, featuring Diana. ...
Members of the 60th Security Police Squadrons Base Swat Team, Travis Air Force Base, wearing black uniforms stand with M-9 pistols ready behind concealing foliage. ...
The communications and information technology service (DST) is developing the ASTRID digital radio network that the police and all emergency and security services (fire departments, customs, etc.) will use in due course. The International Police Cooperation Division (DSO) is Belgium’s national central bureau for the European Police Office (Europol), Schengen Information System and International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). Europol (the name is a contraction of European Police Office) is the European Unions criminal intelligence agency. ...
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Interpol (or International Criminal Police Organization) was created in 1923 to assist international criminal police co-operation. ...
The local police The local police (La police locale/ De lokale politie) is made up of 196 police forces constituted from the former communal and gendarmerie brigades. 50 police forces cover the territory of one municipality (one-city zone) and 146 cover more than one municipality (multi-city zone).
Each local police chief is responsible for the execution of local police policy and ensures the management, organization and distribution of missions in the local police force. She or he works under the authority of the mayor in one-city zones, or under a police board composed of all the mayors from the different municipalities in a multi-city police zone.
Its philosophy envisions a global and integrated approach to security based on maximum visibility focusing police activities on a limited area, which should optimize contact between the police and the population. It aims to restore public confidence in the police force and of improve the objective and subjective feeling of security in communities.
Structure Each police force consists of an operational cadre of police and auxiliary police plus civilian personnel for administrative and logistic work. At the moment, approx. 28,000 local police and 900 civilians work in the 196 regional police forces. The numerical strength of the police is determined by the police board for multi-city zones or by the town council for one-city zones, which must match the minimal standards set by law. Also a Permanent Commission for the Local Police represents all local police services at national level and provides advice on all problems relating to the local police.
Missions To guarantee a minimum service to the population, Belgian law provides six basic functions for the local police: Community policing, responsiveness, intervention, victim support, local criminal investigation and maintaining public order. - Community policing consists of developing neighborhood relations and maintaining police visibility. This mission is not merely one of maintaining a physical presence but also of local dialogue, exchange of ideas and personal relationships. The norms call for at least 1 community officer per 4,000 inhabitants.
- Responsiveness means giving answers to citizens who appear in person, call by phone or write to the police. Sometimes they are directed to an internal service or a more suitable external service. Each police zone maintains a permanent point of contact. In the multi-city-zones, each city or municipality has its own police-post which, if not accessible 24 hours a day, gives citizens the opportunity to get in touch with the police.
- The intervention function consists of responding to all calls, where police intervention is needed, within an appropriate time. This response can be, depending on the case and the context (seriousness, necessity, circumstances), immediate or delayed; in this last case, the inquirer must be informed about the cause of the delay and the duration.
- The victims unit gives assistance to victims of crime. Each police officer is expected to give victim support. In serious cases, the police force may use a police officer specially trained to handle victims.
- The local criminal investigation unit supports local police in the investigation of local crime. In each local police force, about 7 to 10 percent of the force’s personnel work for the investigations division.
- Maintaining public order means protecting or, when necessary, restoring public order, security and public health. This not only means maintaining public order at large events such as demonstrations, football matches or local festivities but also environmental problems and traffic.
External links -
 Wikimedia Atlas of Belgium. |
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