Federal police struggling to cope with a potential terrorist threat

A report on the functioning of the federal police was delivered to the House of Representatives and discussed by Belgian news outlet De Tijd this week. The document was prepared by the Federal Police Council – which includes municipalities, experts, senior magistrates and police chiefs – and it shows that if a new terrorist threat or other major security crisis occurred, the federal police would not be able to cope with it.

“There is no staff reserve and the law is too rigid to move people from one pillar to another,” said the Federal Police Council President Willy Bruggeman.”Whenever a new phenomenon appears, the police are struggling to survive. Not to mention the terrorist attacks, which are very specific and require all possible efforts. ”

The MP Tim Vandenput (Open Vld) calls in De Tijd to invest another 500 to 900 million euros in police, justice, fire and defense. “We really need to invest more in our basic security.”