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Crime drops in 2 Belgian cities where troops deployed

Xinhua, April 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

Crime in Brussels and Antwerp in the first quarter has fallen, and some attribute the decrease to the troops which were deployed on the streets following the increase in the terrorist threat level in January, according to Het Laaste Nieuws.

Figures released by the Belgian Ministry of the Interior showed that street crime was down by 30 percent compared to the same period in 2014.

The decrease was mainly noted in burglaries, personal theft and unauthorised dumping.

According to the figures, 550 police warnings were issued in Brussels in the first 12 weeks of this year, compared with 790 in the same period in 2014. In Antwerp, 314 warnings have been issued in 2015, compared with 459 same period last year.

According to Interior Minister Jan Jambon, these statistics can be explained by the presence of soldiers in the streets of both cities.

However, according to the mayor of Brussels, Yvan Mayeur, crime was already falling in the city in 2014. "That's all I can say. For 2015, I do not have numbers. But I can, in any case, ensure that the military presence in the streets had no impact, otherwise it would have been brought to my attention," he said, quoted by Le Soir.

Around 175 Belgian soldiers were deployed on the streets of Brussels and Antwerp following the raising of the terrorist threat level in January, after a major jihadist cell was uncovered operating in the country.

The troops are being used as temporary security around certain sensitive locations. Endit