Belgians feel burglaries and alcohol and drug checks in traffic should be among the top priorities for the police, according to the results of the Safety Monitor 2021 survey.
The police's top five priorities should further include better policing of robbery with threats or violence, drug trafficking and domestic violence, respondents noted. The survey was conducted by the federal police in cooperation with local police, the Federal Interior Department and local governments.
Although cybercrime is very common, it failed to make the top ten on the priority list.
Citizens unaware of some police services
The Safety Monitor showed that the public is not sufficiently aware of some police services. Although it has been possible for several years to report certain offences online via Police-On-Web, less than half (41%) of those surveyed said they had heard of this service, while up to 72% said they would like to use it in future.
Regarding satisfaction with the police, the way the forces of law and order interact with the public was deemed very important. People were most satisfied with police intervention in the event of an administrative process (86%), lost/found property (80%) or a traffic accident (79%). Around seven in ten respondents were satisfied in cases where they needed to ask for help, information or advice.
When reporting a crime, 67% were satisfied with police conduct, 64% were satisfied with traffic checks, and 50% were satisfied with the way fines or warnings were issued.
General satisfaction with the police
Overall, the average satisfaction rate was 72%. For the tenth edition of the Safety Monitor, Belgians aged 15 years or older completed a comprehensive questionnaire on issues such as neighbourhood problems, feeling safe or unsafe, victimisation, willingness to report crimes, and police operations.
Nearly 400,000 Belgians received the questionnaire in the mail and nearly 100,000 had completed it by the end of 2021. The previous survey took place in 2018.
