Crime has fallen by almost 20% in Brussels in ten years, according to the Brussels Prevention and Security’s (BPS) first report, relayed in Le Soir on Thursday. At the same time, the Region’s population has increased by 15.5%. In ten years, the number of offenses went down from 181,189 to 145,493 (-19%). Theft and extortion even decreased by 36%.
Certain crimes are more common in urban environments. In Brussels, there are more thefts in or on vehicles, robberies with violence, hold-ups or complaints for discrimination or racism than at the national level.
It is to be noted that bicycle theft is three times higher today in the capital than it was ten years ago. Drug possession or nocturnal disturbances are more common today, or at least more often reported to the police.
The BPS report offers views of crime by neighborhood. (Since 2005, Brussels is divided into 145 districts.) All offenses included, the five most problematic neighborhoods are located in the center: Grand Place, Cureghem, Porte de Hal, Matonge and Brabant.
“The goal is not to deliver the hit parade of problem areas,’’ Araoud Jamil, CEO of BPS insists in Le Soir, “but to best target the solutions to be implemented.’’
The Brussels Times
