3,000 thefts in Brussels pedestrian zone since January

An average of 13 thefts a day have been recorded in Brussels’ pedestrian zone so far this year, including a television camera belonging to the broadcaster RTBF.

RTBF said it was producing a television report on the pedestrian walkway this month when one of its cameras was stolen in a "simple, non-violent robbery", leading the broadcaster to examine how common such thefts were for the area.

Brussels Capital/Ixelles police zone supplied data showing that at least 3,159 thefts were reported to the authorities between 1 January and 31 August 2024.

Those thefts include pickpocketing, simple theft (without violence), theft with violence, and theft of vehicles or other means of transport.

“Our various services, through their daily visible and invisible presence – bikers, police officers specialising in pickpocketing – along with our neighbourhood services, combined with police actions directed by our local research department and our city centre neighbourhood and intervention department, made 454 administrative arrests and 728 judicial arrests during this period in this area,” the police force added.

The figure, though high, represents a 6% decrease compared with the same eight-month period last year.

“We’re continuing our efforts to make the pedestrian zone in the city centre safer and more pleasant for everyone,” a police spokesperson said.