Belgium has launched PoliceSearch, a new digital platform designed to connect all 200 local police zones and enable real-time information sharing across the country, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin announced on Wednesday.
"Until now, local police zones operated with separate, siloed information systems. The result was delays, duplication and poor data circulation," the minister's office said.
With PoliceSearch, information entered at a local police station, for example, following a complaint or an intervention, becomes immediately accessible to all other police services nationwide.
"This near real-time sharing of information between services allows for faster, more efficient intervention," Minister Quintin said. "It saves time and strengthens cooperation between our law enforcement agencies."
The 2016 parliamentary inquiry into the Brussels attacks had urged better, faster and more secure information exchange between police and intelligence services.
Quintin stressed that the new system complies with privacy laws. "Every consultation via PoliceSearch will be logged, supervised and restricted to what is necessary for the officer’s mission," he said. The National General Database (BNG) remains the main reference point, with PoliceSearch complementing the system.
