On Facebook, this police decision aroused, at best, incomprehension or, more often, anger. Some believe that “if the police did their job”, citizens should not patrol. Others consider that there is no reason to prohibit such citizen patrols which are not illegal.
In reality, however, they are under the Law of July 29, 1934 on private militias.
And the aborted initiative of the inhabitants of Rumes is similar in that they are people who are structuring themselves with a view to replacing public power, notes divisional commissioner Dominique Debrauwere.
“In addition, with such an initiative, people would expose themselves to risks,” adds the head of the Tourisi police zone. “Thieves, whatever the means, they flee. And if a citizen tries to ‘interpose, it can turn out badly. Is a TV or a ring worth a serious injury or a death?
In terms of effectiveness, the commissioner also expresses doubts: “As a sign of rallying, the volunteer citizens planned to put a yellow vest on the dashboard or the rearview mirror of their car during the rounds, he says. And they ‘had made it known on social networks But hey, thieves are not stupider than the others eh…’
Local prevention partnership
Although organized surveillance tours are prohibited, this does not mean that citizens cannot do anything. In the event of suspicious behavior, they can obviously call the police.
In most police zones, there are “local prevention partnerships” whose objective is to make citizens vigilant.
But if it is a citizen initiative in terms of security, it is overseen by the police and is the subject of a precise protocol which must be validated by the Ministry of the Interior.
As part of a local prevention partnership (PLP), a real communication plan is established between the police and citizens, with a referent on the citizen side and another on the police side.
Within the framework of a PLP, communication also takes place in both directions: citizens communicate suspicious facts observed in their neighborhood while the police can also initiate a report or warn everyone members of the PLP. For example on subjects related to security such as burglaries, scams or even disappearances or suspicious fires.
“The goal is therefore to reduce insecurity as well as the feeling of insecurity by strengthening collaboration between citizens (residents or traders) with the police,” explains the Ministry of the Interior on its web page dedicated to PLP.
Although he is opposed to rounds, Commissioner Debrauwere recognizes the real usefulness of PLPs which make it possible to obtain useful information. “Which have already allowed us to intervene in real time,” he says.
Nivelles and Genappe: for the police, the PLPs work
