Nearly a year after Belgium's outgoing Prime Minister Alexander De Croo (Open VLD) announced a new police station in the Brussels Midi station to tackle crime and the feelings of insecurity in the area, things are finally moving forward.
One of the main points in the Federal Government's action plan to tackle the issues in and around the train station was to set up a dedicated police station in the building. Ten months later however, no such station has opened, though the crime and harassment that have plagued the central transport hub continue to impact locals and travellers.
"We have now found a location in the station that meets all the police requirements and it is currently being prepared," Dimitri Temmerman, spokesperson for national railway operator SNCB, told The Brussels Times. "The plan is to be ready to open it by the end of the summer."
SNCB has long been in favour of having a police station on the premises. More details about where in the building the station will be have not yet been disclosed.
Visible police presence
The SNCB's own security service Securail is present in the station around the clock and the Federal Railway Police – who are responsible for the trains, tracks and platforms – have more officers at Midi than in other stations because they also ensure border controls to the Eurostar. Still, reports of violence, drug use and petty theft in and around the station are commonplace.
As an extra post for the Railway Police, the new station will reinforce the presence of uniformed officers even more. "This will be a place in Brussels Midi where people, including those who became victims of a crime, can go," confirmed An Berger, spokesperson for the Federal Police, to The Brussels Times.
The post will always be manned when the station is open (from around 05:00 until 01:00). "This means there will always be a visible police presence in the station, which should make it easier for people to report crimes and issues."
Credit: Belga / Nicolas Maeterlinck
While SNCB did improve the lighting in and around the Midi station, and ensured that the station is cleaned more regularly every day and decorated several entrances to make them more pleasant for travellers, Bruzz reported on Monday that roughly a year after the major "clean-up" operation last summer, little seems to have changed in the area.
"There are only problems here," Yassine Taamallah, the manager of the Delhaize shop in the metro station below Brussels Midi, told the news outlet. "I have been working here for six years and it has always been the same. Homeless people, undocumented people, many people go in here to steal."
Several days ago, another violent theft happened in the shop. "Something is guaranteed to happen here every day. When we call, the police arrive at the scene quickly but otherwise it sometimes takes an hour and a half before we see a police patrol walking by. And STIB security officers do nothing."
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One of the main issues remains the growing consumption of crack – a processed and much cheaper form of cocaine. The drug has been on the rise in Brussels for some time and is regularly linked to aggressive behaviour and theft.
For Emiliane Delca, who works as a waiter at Brasserie Europa right opposite the station entrance at Place Horta, the so-called "clean-up" in late August 2023 led to a slight and temporary improvement, but the situation has long since reverted.
"After the clean-up, nothing happened. For a while, there was a police van in front of the station entrance every day and that certainly had a deterrent effect, but since January we hardly see any patrols. It seems like Midi Station does not interest anyone anymore."
