After the violence in Molenbeek, on new year’s eve is binnenlandminister The Crem strictly for the local police. According to him, they had better be prepared – especially since the feestgeweld a recurring problem. Police find the criticism misplaced: “The politics attracts too few lessons from the past.”
Interior Minister Pieter De Crem (CD&V), the question arises: had the police themselves well enough prepared? After all, it is not the first time that the new year eve in the Brussels municipality of bad runs. But the criticism of The Crem is unjustified, find officers. “It is inappropriate”, says Mario Thys of the police union NSPV. “Not the police, but that ettertjes are the problem. The police can have them, not educate. And if the politics wants us to solve, that they have the resources for that.”
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And there is missing in the police zone Brussels-West. “We had about 65 agents in the field – the same as last year”, says a Molenbeekse police source. “Were there more? Maybe. Kónden that there are others? Our zone is 125 agents shortage. Every time if additional manpower is needed, we need to scrape. Yellow bibs, Mars at Marrakesh… eventually there are no volunteers for providing additional services to fill in. With 100 men is a different story.” The Crem promises next year 2,500 new recruits – just as much as this year. But that figure is according to Thys unrealistic: “Then he also internal promotions. In reality was there to the end of september but 700 recruits.”
in Addition, you have nothing to additional agents on the street, if not decisively intervene. “We’ve known for years: the Black Ponds and the Piersstraat, you have to be guaranteed to intervene. Yet no one asks the agents on the ground what needs to be improved”, says the policeman. “Why is there never a samenscholingsverbod to Black Ponds? And close the public trash cans once and remove the garbage from the street. Then they are not already on fire.” Also police union VSOA see the main problem: “You need administrative ensure that police harder can occur, and justice can continue.”
With increased
According to our police source, it was the political long to be little urgency to the vandalism to deal with. “Only now, the media attention, the realization is growing that it can not. I notice that the anxiety and frustration of residents increases. That increases the pressure on the politics, because now it’s not only the police who complains.”
Vervangburgemeester Abdellah Achaoui was not accessible. (SRB)
