October 14, 2024 –
3 visits
“If he is elected mayor [ à Mons ]Bouchez proposes a global security plan including camera surveillance, weekly road checks, and street bans. He is also considering curfews in certain neighborhoods and banning alcohol on the streets. » can we read on the MR website.
In a publication from August 4, Georges-Louis Bouchez shared a photo of a man lying on the sidewalk, stating “What the PS does not want to see and above all tries to hide from you…A classic and everyday scene in Mons”. Boucher then criticizes the PS for its lack of firmness in the face of alcohol and drugs.
During an interview with Sudinfo, he declared his exasperation towards the “barakis” and the “pests”. This approach based on shocking images and comments marks its strategy. However, his proposals, considered simplistic by many specialists, seem to play more on the feeling of insecurity to rally electoral votes, at the risk of amplifying it, than on reality. Actors and actresses in the field qualify these accusations and reject the idea of a repressive response to such complex issues.
One of Bouchez’s flagship measures is the ban on begging, despite the Council of State canceling similar municipal decrees twice. According to the Council of State, begging, as long as it is not harassing, is a right. Rather than banning this phenomenon, the question to ask is why are people forced to live on the streets? Lysiane Colinet, coordinator of the urban social relay of Mons-Borinage, emphasizes that the solution does not lie in locking up beggars, because their problems of addiction, precariousness and mental health will persist when they leave. Each year, its program helps around 60 people get off the street, a tedious job that actors and actresses in the field call on to carry out as a team. But educators and psychologists working in the social sector, who are understaffed, are struggling to meet demand.
The deterioration of living conditions has the effect of increasing the risks of developing mental health disorders or the risks of addiction which can lead to homelessness. One in three homeless people suffer from mental health problems. Strengthening funding and collaboration between social assistance and mental health services and housing stakeholders seems more relevant than strengthening police repression. Without stable housing, it is almost impossible to address mental health issues. Homelessness is not inevitable, but a direct consequence of political choices.
Bouchez also proposes transforming peacekeepers into sanctioning agents to free up time for the police force. This measure risks legitimizing systematic and violent controls, often targeting vulnerable populations, while failing to resolve the underlying problems. Criminologists are, however, unanimous on police repression: it has never resolved the problems linked to drugs. On the contrary, our prisons are overflowing, with almost 50% of prisoners incarcerated for drug-related offenses, well above the European average of 19% (according to the Council of Europe, January 2022). This police repression often only shifts the problem, pushing consumers and dealers to retreat elsewhere. “Zero tolerance” speeches are easy answers to complex issues, intended to reassure the electorate, without addressing the root causes of addiction or even homelessness.
Furthermore, insecurity is above all a feeling, often amplified by media coverage and exposure to violent images. As criminologist Dieter Burssens points out, the feeling of insecurity can persist even when crime falls. We must take the crime figures with a critical eye. Police statistics are only part of the reality, because they only reflect crimes reported to the police. So-called “white collar” crimes, committed by people in positions of power, often escape official figures because they take place outside the public space. These figures are also influenced by police priorities and methods, which change over time. Police statistics therefore only count offenses brought to the attention of the police, influenced by the “the more you look, the more you find” effect.
Isn’t real insecurity especially experienced by those who have no housing, no work, and who find themselves immersed in drugs, with no opportunity to escape?
Bouchez’s proposals, ephemeral and brutal, are centered on a repressive approach and do not take into account the complex dynamics that underlie the problems of urban insecurity. A real reduction in violence and insecurity would come through social, health and housing measures, rather than through the multiplication of sanctions and bans.
SOURCES :
https://www.mr.be/georges-louis-bouchez-veut-plus-de-securite-a-mons-sil-est-elu-bourgmestre/
https://www.sudinfo.be/id862048/article/2024-07-26/les-barakis-cest-fini-les-propos-chocs-de-georges-louis-bouchez-divisent-mons-je
https://www.rtbf.be/article/mons-un-toit-pour-permettre-aux-sdf-de-redemarrer-dans-la-vie-10323210
https://www.lesoir.be/618100/article/2024-08-26/insecurite-mons-sur-le-terrain-une-realite-bien-plus-nuancee-que-les-discours
https://www.rtbf.be/article/bataille-de-chiffres-sur-l-insecurite-a-mons-entre-nicolas-martin-ps-et-georges-louis-bouchez-mr-qui-dit-vrai-11437364
https://www.rtbf.be/article/fusillades-liees-au-trafic-de-drogue-et-pourtant-a-bruxelles-les-chiffres-de-la-criminalite-sont-en-baisse-depuis-des-annees-11443675
https://bruxellesdevie.com/2024/07/14/trafic-et-repression-les-habitant%C2%B7es-des-quartiers-populaires-vise%C2%B7es/
Source: Stuut.info
