Drugs violence in Brussels: Hotspot strategy granted six-month extension

Brussels’ Regional Security Council has granted a six-month extension to the "hotspot strategy" developed to coordinate the fight against drug trafficking in the Belgian capital.

Authorities say the strategy, which directs actions and resources to the most problematic areas of the capital, will be adapted and supplemented with new measures, if necessary.

While details on potential new measures remain scant for now, Anderlecht mayor Fabrice Cumps (PS) did request that Anderlecht’s police force be relieved of the obligation to assist in other zones for special events, noting that local police were already outstretched.

“Some police zones have many problems with drugs, and for example have two top-flight football clubs in their territory,” he said of Anderlecht and Saint-Gilles.

The decision on a continuation of the strategy was originally scheduled to be made at the end of the month, but authorities convened earlier following a new wave of drug-related gun violence in Brussels.

The capital’s minister president Rudi Vervoort (PS) said the recent violence resulted in Belgium’s interior minister and national drugs commissioner also attending the meeting, which includes all 19 mayors, the police chiefs of each police zone, the crown prosecutor of Brussels and the coordinating director and the judicial director of the federal police, among others.

“What we will remember is a convergence of priorities requiring all levels of power to invest in the same direction,” Vervoort said. “It’s important that everyone does what they need to do within their sphere of competence.”

Sophie Lavaux, director-general of safe.brussels, said the recent shootings observed were only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to drug trafficking.

“We have been coordinating our strategy for several months and are seeing the results, but it’s a complex problem that goes beyond Belgium,” Lavaux said.

“It’s therefore important to have an integrated approach with the various partners and we will continue to consult with each other. As long as there is no judicial outcome, we will have to continue to be on the ground 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Cumps expressed hope that the merger of police zones in Brussels will also help combat drug violence.

“We must also have the honesty to say that we will not be able to keep up this pace for 20 years,” he cautioned.

“We therefore need to strengthen the human resources available to us in terms of local police, but also judicial and federal police, whether by hiring additional staff, or by recognising that some areas are more vulnerable than others and should be relieved of certain tasks such as prisoner transfers or the surveillance of places linked to the Jewish community.”

The Regional Strategy to Combat Drug Trafficking was launched in April 2024 and its targeted approach combines security, prevention and improvement of the quality of life in the neighbourhoods concerned, each of which has its own task force.

Among the more visible effects of the hotspot strategy are increased police presence at critical times, targeted legal action against street dealing, increased identity checks, restrictions on the sale and consumption of alcohol, longer opening hours for prevention services and the organisation of cultural and community activities to reinvest public space.

According to safe.brussels, the intensification of cleaning operations and infrastructure maintenance has also improved the living environment for residents.