Many reactions have been heard, mainly at the political level. But what about the police directly concerned by this merger who, according to the wishes of the minister, should be effective in 2027?
Free asked the question to one of the main Union representatives of the profession, Vincent Gilles, president of the SLFP Police (Liberal Union), as well as several Brussels police officers.
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“Lack of clarity”, “zero added value”
“My opinion – and it is shared by many colleagues, since we are talking about it a lot at the moment – is that the announced reform will above all allow you to add an additional chain of command to direct everything, but nothing else, in this case, where the needs are glaringhas been an active police officer in the capital for many years. All that is powder in the eyes that will above all send a political message to citizens by making them believe that after this merger, everything will be better, that the problems of the neighborhoods will be better treated when it will not change anything at all. In practice, we will always be so little on the ground, with still as many files and we will remain divided since there will be no centralized research, it will be too complicated to set up. And so, we are just going to add people above and no one below, when it is at this level that it takes from the world, on the ground. “
Another policeman shares this observation and recalls that the most urgent, according to him, is indeed to have a reinforcement of the workforce. “CErtaines zones need more investigators, others have a problem of attractiveness and suffer from a significant turnover. The real priority is to make sure to have more people at this level. We neglect this point and we prefer to speak of a merger that gives the impression of meeting a political demand, but not to the needs of the police, nor to the expectations of citizens, he insists. And to add: “I have the impression that the minister was starting from a good feeling, but he should be referred by people who have a better knowledge of the field. Because if the goal of this merger, it is to be more effective, it is very difficult to understand how it will be possible with what is presented. “
Bernard Quintin (MR), Minister of the Interior: “Around the summer, we will have a final decision for the merger of the 6 police zones in Brussels”
A “pre-formator” before moving forward?
According to a young police officer active in more complicated neighborhoods in Brussels, this debate is mainly similar to a “rooster fight to find out who will direct this gigantic area“. Ll also believes that there is, in the announced plan, no added value allowing to fight more effectively against crime in the capital.”Honestly, I think there will be no major change from an operational point of view for people on the ground, he continues. The six zones will continue to work as is currently the case: in a partitioned manner. When there will be concrete needs, it will always be the same who will come to spin a boost, and always the same who will say ‘Ah no, I will not go to this or that district‘. Internally, we don’t have too many illusions. “
-A more experienced police officer believes that before launching the machine, Bernard Quintin should think of named a kind of “pre-formator”, like what exists in politics. “”This will allow him to really have the support of the field, to hear the fears and to reassure those who must be. Because, if you have to move forward in a project that concerns police officers, which you advance by listening to them “.
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“The assured cacophony”
When we question Vincent Gilles, president of the SLFP Police, on the feasibility of such a merger, – obviously little appreciated by the police when the minister wants her to be applied soon -, he says he is skeptical. “”Either there is an excess of naivety from the minister, or it is blindness, launches the policeman. The deadline seems rather short for a rather ambitious plan, except that the minister jumped a stage in consultation by detailing the project of merger in the press first, which means that, we, police, have learned all this through the media. This is a mistake “.
Regarding the merger project as such, Vincent Gilles explains that he has many returns from police police, with questions of various natures. “”Some do not ask too many questions as long as they are kept in their usual work areas, which should normally be the case for neighborhood agents, for example. On the other hand, some investigators active in more complex areas do not want to be sent elsewhere, work in unknown terrain, in contact with an unknown audienceexhibits the union representative. What is also coming back to us is a fear of seeing a lot of mobility in Brussels without it being accompanied by social measures to amortize all of this. The main fear is to become a supernumerary police officer in an area where we have always worked and to undergo a forced transfer elsewhere. Some police are already thinking of leaving Brussels to go and see if oxygen is more breathable. “
The SLFP Police will soon have a meeting with the Minister of the Interior, and will share the grievances of the police. But other elements will be presented. “”We wonder what is the use of such a project, which is cruelly lacking in clarity. It is, for example, a question of a single corps chief, but the operational aspects will be shared. Why add actors? With what objective in terms of efficiency? What role will be really granted to the police? We don’t really know, everything is ambiguous and we want to understand, because some note sentences raise questions. And I am convinced that certain terms are not there by pure chance. Everyone must have clear skills, otherwise it is guaranteed cacophony “, worries Vincent Gilles.
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The union finally explains that a feasibility study should have been carried out before advancing in the merger project. “”In Flanders, several police zones have already merged and the observation is that instead of degrading to be more effective, we mainly created additional positions to police officers that we did not know where to send. With a zero effect in terms of efficiency. I do not believe that it is the will of the Minister of the Interior. But if he wants to lead in a concrete way in the interest of the police, he must avoid working without prior consultation with the police. “
