Brussels-Ixelles police zone to hire 40 recruits this summer

The Brussels-City/Ixelles police zone have placed an ad to hire 40 more traffic police. It’s the first of two hiring rounds that will take place this year to make up a shortage of 200 officers.

At the beginning of the year, the police zone announced the campaign Police 2.0, with Brussels-City mayor Philippe Close saying “whereby the citizen shouldn’t have go to the police, but the police should go to the citizen”. Another 70 officers will be hired by the end of the year, and 100 more next year.

The changes were instigated following the riots of November 2017, which saw major damage to shops, cars and infrastructure in downtown Brussels. One of the riots followed a football match, another a promised surprise concert announced on social media and the third a protest. Much criticism was levied against the police, who were said to have arrived too late and with insufficient back-up.

The first 40 officers to be hired this summer will be assigned to traffic safety duty. Currently there are so few officers patrolling the streets that they have no time to hand out traffic fines. The new crop of officers will also back-up current agents, such as during searches – and riots.

Photo: Dirk Waem/BELGA