Belgium’s police information watchdog has identified serious legal, security and privacy failings in Focus, the digital police platform used nationwide and previously presented as the successful replacement for the failed i-Police system.

The findings are contained in a report by the Supervisory Body for Police Information Management (COC), according to Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday. The story was also published in sister newspapers Gazet van Antwerpen and Het Belang van Limburg.

Focus was developed by Antwerp police and is used by all local police zones as well as the federal police. On 3 November, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said in the federal parliament that the app was delivering “concrete results.”

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However, the COC report has been on the desks of Quintin and Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden since June. In it, the police privacy watchdog warns of serious shortcomings in the areas of legality, security and privacy, including clear risks of abuse.

According to the report, Focus does not always record who consults, changes or distributes documents. That information is considered crucial for detecting misuse.

The watchdog also found that access rights are too broad. It said data can be changed in different places without any guarantee that updates are applied everywhere, raising the risk that outdated information continues to circulate.

The platform’s security was also criticised. Users can remain logged in for 14 hours without being active, which the COC described as a major risk of improper use.

Despite the findings, the COC has not imposed corrective measures. It has, however, urged the police to address the shortcomings as a matter of urgency.

“We cannot simply shut down the use of Focus, because that would paralyse the operational functioning of the Belgian police,” COC chairman Frank Schuermans told Het Nieuwsblad.

In a written response, the federal police said it was working with Antwerp police to implement the recommendations.