The police, public prosecutor’s office and the Immigration Office will work together more closely to tackle drug violence in Brussels. The National Security Council decided this on Wednesday. Coordinated preventive actions will be taken in ‘hotspots’ such as the Anderlecht district of Peterbos or the area around the Halle Gate, Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD) said at a press conference.
You can find more about the drug war in Brussels in our file.
In recent weeks, Brussels has repeatedly been the scene of violent settlements in the drug environment, often in busy neighborhoods, sometimes in broad daylight. Tackling this violence is not easy: the drug networks are increasingly calling on new young dealers, who are often in the country illegally. The fragmentation of the Brussels police zones is an additional difficulty, especially when networks spread beyond municipal borders.
The National Security Council has therefore decided to tackle the violence in a more coordinated manner, mainly with preventive actions in hotspots such as Peterbos or the Hallepoort district. This is possible because the Brussels public prosecutor’s office and the federal police have been strengthened following the attack on Swedish football supporters last autumn, Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt explained. The public prosecutor’s office can guarantee that it will be present at all actions so that dealers found there can be arrested or summoned for summary proceedings.
No soldiers
In addition, agreements have been made with the Immigration Department, which provides places in the closed centers to remove drug criminals who are in our country illegally from the territory. The six Brussels police zones will then better coordinate their actions.
Sending soldiers onto the streets, a question that the French-speaking liberals of MR reportedly put on the table, is not an option, Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder (PS) emphasized afterwards during an interview with Belga. Defense regularly provides support in crises, but does not have the training, equipment or mandate to act against organized crime, she said. “There was hardly any discussion about this during the National Security Council. The MR called for this, but the services have not responded, because it does not meet their needs at all,” says Dedonder.
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Tags: National Security Council shifts gears drug violence Brussels preventive actions Anderlecht Hallepoort Brussels
