De Wever calls systematic identity checks a success: “Antwerp is not a playground for crappy people” (Antwerp)

Since the Easter holidays, the Antwerp police have been carrying out systematic identity checks on (groups of) young people staying around Central Station, Operaplein and Via Sinjoor (the axis between De Keyserlei and Suikerrui). The police action was announced in the press at the beginning of this month, following a series of nuisance incidents.

Sam Van Rooy (Vlaams Belang) and Ilse Van Dienderen (Groen) asked the mayor a few questions about this during the municipal council. The Green councilor expressed her concern that such systematic checks could lead to ethnic profiling and asked how the police define a ‘nuisance gathering’ and whether there is a legal framework within which action can be taken.

READ ALSO. Police will systematically check loitering youth on and around Operaplein: “Publishers of nuisance are a thorn in the side”

Not haphazardly

To these last concerns, Bart De Wever replied irritably that he has already stated numerous times that the police effectively act within a well-defined framework. “So the police have none license to bother anyone with checks,” said the mayor. He also emphasized that Antwerp was one of the first forces to develop a policy on ‘professional profiling’. “We are leading when it comes to training people on how to carry out correct inspections in the field and how to carry out correct interventions. The last thing you can accuse me of is haphazardly signing signatures to carry out systematic checks.”

According to the mayor, there is a very thorough reason for the fact that these are now taking place systematically in the station area. “We see that young people from outside Antwerp come here to commit acts of mischief, to harass people, to stir up McDonald’s, to extort money from small children… For a certain type of young people it is a hobby. These often involve very young profiles of 14 and 15 years old.”

Act proactively

According to De Wever, it is a recurring phenomenon during the holiday periods and weekends, with an upsurge during the last Crocus holidays. “That is why we wanted to act proactively during the Easter holidays and also want to be prepared for the Summer holidays.” De Wever seems to indicate that the initial period of the project could be extended beyond July 1.

The mayor states that the police have a good idea of ​​who the troublemakers are and that there are therefore targeted checks and action. “With these measures we ensure that the police do not have to wait for rudeness to happen, because we really know our people. We know who it is. We are sending out the signal to those young people: “You are not welcome in Antwerp, this is not a playground for crappy people and it never will be.”

De Wever explained that since the start of the checks on March 30, 47 police reports have been drawn up, including for young people who disturbed the peace in the McDonald’s on Teniersplaats. A young person appeared 140 times, often the same person. No PVs were drawn up for gatherings.

When asked about an evaluation of the first weeks, De Wever sounds positive. “The local police report to us that the young people are very well aware of what is happening and that via a TikTok channel. So we notice a clear deterrent effect and that was exactly our intention. If our actions lead to this, then the plan has been successful.”

Antwerp North

Two weeks ago it was also announced that the Antwerp police would also carry out such systematic identity checks in the Antwerp North district. “There it is a completely different problem: illegal immigrants, often people from Morocco, Tunisia or Suriname who come to push drugs. A phenomenon that we see emerging more and more.” To the great frustration of De Wever and the police, it is often the same people who are arrested, but who immediately return to the streets because there is no room in closed reception centers and the chance that they will be repatriated is much less.

READ ALSO. Antwerp police will now also systematically check against nuisance in Antwerp North

Ilse Van Dienderen (Green) accuses the city council that the problem in the neighborhood has continued to simmer and that insufficient action has been taken due to a lack of manpower among the police neighborhood teams and neighborhood supervisors. A blatant lie according to De Wever: “I have been hearing the rumor that the neighborhood teams are understaffed for twelve years now and it is a myth. How many times do I have to hear this nonsense?”