Due to a lack of magistrates at the Brussels prosecutor's office, it announced it will be taking "crisis measures," including a more lax approach to certain crimes.
The Capital Region's prosecutor's office, the most important of its type in the country, announced this in a letter to the various chiefs of police in Brussels, La Libre Belgique reported on Friday. It is responsible for investigating and prosecuting criminal offences which take place in this region.
"The number of magistrates at the Brussels prosecutor's office has decreased significantly and, despite our request for additional staff, this situation does not seem likely to change this year," the letter, seen by the newspaper, read.
"At the same time, the number of areas of interest is increasing. In these circumstances, crisis measures are necessary," it added.
Drugs and domestic violence
Among the measures mentioned in the letter, it has been proposed to suspend the application of the proposals of the immediate "transaction" or immediate settlement — referring to the act of people having to pay a fine immediately on the spot — for crimes related to drugs.
The letter also includes the possibility of suspending the application of temporary residence bans, referring to measures put in place in case of domestic violence, which forces a violent spouse to leave the shared residence for ten days. Suspending this could potentially lead to people having to remain in the same house with a person that is abusing them.
"The criminal policy in accelerated procedure will also change so that there will be fewer police summonses for cases of theft (without violence or threats) caught red-handed," it also says.
Overall, the prosecutor's office specified that it is trying to "limit police investment in cases where we are not going to pursue the procedure." Exceptions will remain, however, "in certain areas or neighbourhoods."
Defending the management of the said prosecutor's office, acting public prosecutor Tim de Wolf explained that "choices had to be made in our missions."
"This is linked to the lack of means, not to the lack of ambition," he told the French-speaking newspaper.
The cabinet of Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne responded that it was aware of the situation and had requested a review of the recruitment plan to allow the Brussels Prosecutor's Office to recruit the necessary magistrates.
