Interior minister wants coordinated, preventive approach to drug violence in Brussels 

Brussels has repeatedly been the scene of violent drug-related confrontations in recent weeks, often in crowded neighbourhoods, sometimes in broad daylight. There have been a number of shootings, some of them fatal. Tackling that violence is not straightforward: drug networks call on a succession of young dealers, who are often in the country illegally.

“We can only tackle the drug problem in Brussels if all levels work together,” says Annelies Verlinden, of Flemish Christian democrats CD&V.

Closer cooperation between the police, the public prosecutor’s office and the Immigration Office is needed, according to the National Security Council. There will be coordinated action in hotspots such as the Peterbos neighbourhood in Anderlecht and the Hallepoort neighbourhood in Saint-Gilles.

“We need not only a repressive approach but also a preventive approach,” Verlinden said on Radio 1’s De Ochtend on Thursday. “And that is only possible if there is cooperation at different levels.

“More police presence is needed at hotspots, but it is very frustrating when arrests and identifications take place if there is no quick follow-up from the justice system afterwards, especially if we want to give a sign to criminals that they cannot just get away with anything.”

The issue is not just about drugs, she added. “It is also about homelessness, addiction and people who are in the country illegally. Work needs to be done at each of those levels. So it is important to involve social organisations, and also local and regional authorities.”

Brussels minister president Rudi Vervoort, of Francophone socialist party PS, had long complained that drug violence exceeded the competence of the Brussels region, and that his coordinating role meant little as long as he had no operational powers. A new law to that effect was voted in last week, meaning that, in the case of exceptional or acute problems that cross police zones, his office will be given more powers.

Sending military personnel into the streets, something that Francophone liberals MR had put forward, is out of the question, Verlinden said. “Military personnel cannot carry out identity checks, make official reports or arrest people. So it is a matter of recruiting more police officers. We first need to see that those who are trained and authorised to do so can do their job to the maximum before we look at military personnel.”

The fragmentation of Brussels police zones remains an additional difficulty, especially when networks spread across municipal borders.

There are six police zones in Brussels, with each one covering multiple municipalities. CD&V have for some time advocated creating a single police zone.

“We need to be as efficient as possible,” she said. “We also see that some police zones are in competition with each other when it comes to recruiting officers. And the zones cannot simply share sensitive information about individuals with each other.”