In the wake of the latest shooting in Brussels this week, this time in Molenbeek, the municipality's acting mayor Saliha Raïss (Vooruit) has called on the Federal Government to take structural measures against the ongoing drug-related violence in Brussels.
The past few days have again been overshadowed by violent shootings in the Brussels-Capital Region, including in the municipality of Molenbeek. On Wednesday, shots were fired between three people in the Rue du Niveau.
"We have done everything we could as a municipality. But that is not enough," Raïss said in a press release on Thursday. Her party colleague Bieke Comer, who is a councillor in Anderlecht (where drug-related violence is also rampant), also endorses the message.
"These incidents are not isolated events: they are interconnected and move from one neighbourhood to another. What starts in Anderlecht ends in Molenbeek," Raïss said.
Brussels deserves better
In consultation with the police, the municipality decided to organise extra visibility and presence on the ground. Sensitive areas are currently being actively monitored with additional police officers, community guards and Move personnel.
However, the temporary federal support in Molenbeek is insufficient to tackle the deep-rooted problem. "We cannot continue to fight this with one-off and temporary operations. Brussels deserves better. Molenbeek deserves better," Raïss stressed.
In Anderlecht, the violence continues as well, agreed Comer. "This remains particularly frightening for people who live and work in Anderlecht."
Police logo 'Police Bruxelles Ouest' on a police car, in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. Credit: Belga/Christopje Lagasse
Therefore, Raïss and Comer are calling on the Federal Government to take responsibility. They are insisting on a "coordinated, regional and federal approach based on sustainability, prevention and repression where necessary."
"The merging of the Brussels police zones, for example, should ensure that our police services operate more efficiently and is therefore already a step in the right direction, but we as municipalities also need more clarity on this quickly," they stressed. "The safety of our residents is not an optional task, it is a fundamental duty."
Approach is bearing fruit
In response, the office of Interior Minister Bernard Quintin (MR) says that the Federal Government has been working for months to combat drug-related violence in the capital; federal brigades assist local police teams, and the federal judicial police has been reinforced to deal with the number of cases more quickly.
"This approach is bearing fruit: investigations are progressing and the number of arrests is increasing," Quintin's spokesperson Olivier Schotte told Belga News Agency. "Additionally, regular consultations are taking place between the federal and local security services."
However, to be fully effective, these measures must be integrated into "a comprehensive, coherent and structural security strategy for the entire region," said Schotte. "That is the task of the mayors, police chiefs and regional authorities. They can count on the support of the minister for this."
