Student workers have allegedly carried out tasks reserved for police officers in a police zone in Antwerp province, the Antwerp Public Prosecutor's Office has confirmed.
The practices within the Rivierenland police zone, which covers, among others, the cities of Mechelen and Willebroek, will be subject to a criminal investigation led by Belgium's Standing Police Monitoring Committee (Committee P), following inquiries made by the Police Information Control Body (COC).
According to De Morgen, the Flemish police zone allegedly used student workers to help draft official police reports, made them take photographs of illegally parked cars and gave them access to confidential police databases and CCTV systems.
These duties are usually strictly reserved for sworn police officers; granting them to these student workers could constitute criminal offences.
De Morgen examined the internal police manuals, which showed that student workers' involvement in police tasks was systematically removed and replaced their names with those of the department's head, Police Commissioner G.V. Legal experts cited by De Morgen said such practices could amount to forgery of official documents.
Committee P has reportedly been asked to prepare an initial report based on the information already gathered, after which the Prosecutor General's Office will determine the next steps in the criminal investigation.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) indicated to De Morgen that he could launch disciplinary proceedings against the Mechelen police chief if the ongoing investigations uncover irregularities.
Lawmakers from the governing coalition have also called for a thorough investigation. "This matter must be investigated thoroughly," N-VA MP Maaike De Vreese told De Morgen. "Fines are not meant to plug holes in your budget. That is how you undermine trust in our police."
