35 years after the creation of Belgium’s independent police watchdog Comité P, its chair Kathleen Stinckens says the main lesson is that problems usually stem not from a lack of rules but from how they are applied.
Comité P was set up in 1991 in the aftermath of the investigation into the Brabant killers. Its role is to identify weaknesses in police work and issue recommendations.
Stinckens said the body has increasingly taken on the role of a compass over the past 35 years, helping to provide trust, transparency and course correction. She said that role is more necessary than ever when circumstances are uncertain, visibility is clouded and decisions are difficult.
She said police interventions are becoming ever more complex. Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool both for the police and for Comité P, she said, but warned that technological tools must not replace human responsibility.
The need for reliable data and thorough record-keeping is also growing, she said. “What you do not measure, you cannot understand. And what you do not understand, you cannot improve.”
According to Stinckens, several themes recur in Comité P’s recommendations: communication, attitude and respect, proportionality, quality of implementation, training and support, organisation and co-ordination, trust, and accessible reception services.
