Complaints against police rose by 11 percent in 2020

Complaints against police rose by 11 percent in 2020
Photo by Helen Lyons/The Brussels Times.

The number of complaints against police officers in Belgium handled by the General Inspectorate increased by 11 percent between 2019 and 2020, according to the Inspectorate's activity report.

The report includes complaints against police officers made not only by citizens, but also by other police officers or police departments, Le Soir reported.

Around 919 investigations were carried out in 2020, compared to 830 in 2019, an 11 percent increase.

The largest increase occurred in administrative complaint files, which rose from 277 to 485. This is 75 percent more than a year earlier.

“This increase is mainly explained by the revamped and simplified online complaint form on the AIG's website but also partly by an increase in complaints against police officers in the context of the pandemic,” the report reads.

The three most common complaints were beatings and injuries (72 complaints), breach of professional secrecy (51 complaints) and threats (32 complaints).

These figures don't reflect all complaints registered against police officers, as citizens can also file complaints with the Public Prosecutor's Office.

The Brussels Times


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