Brussels: Drop in burglaries attributed to first lockdown

Brussels: Drop in burglaries attributed to first lockdown
© Belga

Burglaries went down by an average 37% in the Brussels-Capital Region in the first half of 2020, compared to the corresponding period of 2019, according to police statistics obtained from the Office of Brussels Prime Minister Rudi Vervoort (Parti Socialiste, PS).

Relaying the figures on Friday, Christen Democratish en Vlaams (CD&V) parliamentarian Bianca Debaets attributed the drop to the first lockdown imposed last year to stem the spread of the novel Coronavirus.

The drop was much more significant in apartments (-43%) than in houses (-24%), and was observed in all communes of the Region, from -7% in Schaerbeek to -68% in Sint-Joost-ten-Noode. On the other hand, there was no change in the rate of break-in attempts (37%) to actual burglaries.

“This is one of the rare good news on 2020 and, of course, it is more than probably linked to the lockdown and, therefore, to the greater presence of citizens at home,” Bianca Debaets said.

“However, on further analysis, the important work done by the communes, which have been taking a great deal of prevention and awareness-building action to urge residents to be more watchful, also needs to be highlighted,” Ms. Debaets said.

Thanks to regional aid, there have also been visible-presence projects in public places as well as support for the granting of home-security allowances, the Brussels parliamentarian recalled.

Moreover, a three-million-euro-per-year subsidy granted by Brussels Prevention and Security for specific anti-burglary measures has translated into enhanced visible presence, home surveillance, techno-prevention, information and awareness-building.

The Brussels Times


Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.