A local approach is tested in pilot projects Belgian minister of interior and security Jan Jambon (N-VA) wants local authorities to benefit from legal means to fight criminal gangs, a system that is successfully applied in The Netherlands. According to Gazet van Antwerpen (7 December), pilot projects have been launched in Antwerp and Limburg.
Regional information and expertise centers play an important role in The Netherlands in the local approach in tackling motorcycle gangs, cannabis producers and illegal companies.
Minister Jambon will consider whether a similar approach can be adopted in Belgium and has set up a pilot project in Antwerp and Limburg. It will test what legal means exist to combat crime through administrative measures.
"The partners involved will evaluate what legal possibilities exist and what can be changed in our legislation to make possible an administrative approach," his spokesperson said.
He confirmed that the project was set up "after several municipalities told us about problems encountered with criminal gangs" and added: “We concluded that municipalities have few legal means to deal administratively with this kind of phenomenon."
The Brussels Times (Source: Belga)
