Police performed 415 arrests and 236 drug seizures between October and December 2024 in the north of Brussels.
The Brussels-North police zone has published an overview of operations conducted between 15 October and 15 December 2024. The zone comprises the municipalities of Schaerbeek, Evere and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode.
During the two-month period, police performed 415 arrests, 197 of which were administrative (the suspect is detained for a short amount of time) and 218 of which were judicial (suspect is deprived of liberty). The arrests were carried out during both regular patrols and special operations.
236 drug seizures occurred, leading to the confiscation of over eight kilogrammes of illicit substances such as cannabis and cocaine and over 880 pills.
Special operations
Brussels-North police explain that they lead special targeted missions on top of regular ID checks of people causing a public nuisance.
Two special operations occurred on the same "particularly problematic stretch of road," the Public Prosecutor's Office stated on Wednesday, the first on 15 November and the second on 15 December. The area is known for armed robbery and drug dealing.
Credit: Brussels North Police Zone
"In early November, a new type of medium-scale operation was launched," said Brussels North police chief Olivier Slosse. "The result is a more visible police presence, not only for the general public, but also for those causing public disorder.
"The aim of the local police will always be to improve safety and the feeling of safety in the Northern Quarter," he added.
The initiative depends on closer collaboration between police forces and the Public Prosecutor's Office, which Royal Public Prosecutor Marie-Rose Broucker says "enables the police to maintain a presence in the field, without diminishing the quality of the judicial response when facts have been committed in flagrante delicto."
