Brussels appoints its first drugs commissioner

Youth criminologist Miran Scheers has been appointed Brussels’ first drugs commissioner after being selected from a competitive pool of 28 candidates. 

Scheers currently heads the prevention and security service for the city of Leuven and has previously worked as an adviser on drugs policy.

“I am delighted with the appointment and will devote myself fully to the challenges that lie ahead,” Scheers told Bruzz.

Brussels minister-president Boris Dilliès (MR) announced the appointment and explained that the Brussels drug commissioner is attached to the regional security administration, safe.brussels, and will initially lead a team of three people.

“Drug trafficking leads to violence and destabilises entire Brussels neighbourhoods,” Dilliès said. 

“To tackle this, we must improve coordination between everyone involved in security, justice and prevention in Brussels.

"That is precisely the role of the drug commissioner’s team. Miran Scheers has both the experience and the practical knowledge required for this role.”

Scheers will work closely with the federal drugs commissioner, Ine Van Wymersch, the public prosecutor, Julien Moinil, and the chief of police of the unified police zone, Michel Goovaerts.

“She is responsible for developing the regional anti-drugs strategy, specifically the hotspot policy,” said Dilliès.

“She will coordinate the interventions of the police, local authorities, regional services and transport companies, in collaboration with the justice system and prevention partners. Furthermore, she must ensure operational monitoring and evaluation.”

Scheers will also oversee the administrative and regulatory aspects relating to the fight against money laundering, and prepare legislative proposals in this regard.

MP Benjamin Dalle (CD&V), who proposed the creation of a drugs commissioner’s office during the negotiations for a Brussels government in February, was pleased with the appointment.

“[Scheers] brings with her many years of experience in the fields of security, drug prevention and cooperation between different authorities,” Dalle said.

“She has proven her worth at both local and national level. Moreover, she is a unifying figure who can bring different partners together around the table.

"That makes her particularly well-suited to shaping the integrated approach to the drug problem in Brussels… Above all, she is a dedicated civil servant."

Opposition party Défi described Scheers as “a Flemish woman with limited knowledge of the Brussels context”. 

Other French-speaking parties also questioned the appointment of a Dutch-speaking non-Brussels resident, and Brussels attorney general Frédéric Van Leeuw said he considered the new role of drugs commissioner superfluous.

Brussels MP Mathias Van den Borre (NV-A) was also critical of the creation of the post.

“With all due respect to the new drugs commissioner, nobody was actually calling for this,” Van den Borre said.

“The security and prevention structure in Brussels is currently a complete mess. This government should have one priority: to integrate the merger of the six police zones as much as possible with the regional structures. What has happened now is the creation of yet another institution.”

While Scheers was born in Leuven and still lives there, she has previously lived in both Schaerbeek and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. 

Leuven’s chief of police, Jean-Paul Mouchaers, who has worked alongside Scheers for almost 15 years, said that she would be missed as she moves to her new role. 

“We wish her every success in Brussels, but for us it is a loss,” Mouchaers said. 

“Leuven is, of course, not comparable to Brussels. But she is certainly a bridge-builder, with a positive yet critical mindset and a very integrated way of thinking: how are we going to work together with all the services to tackle a problem?”

Scheers is not yet giving interviews as she focuses on preparing for her new role, but Mouchaers describes her as a "people manager who can get her team on the same page".