Belgium’s Integrated Police - made up of the federal and local police forces - launched a new recruitment drive on Saturday at the Major Géruzet barracks in the Brussels municipality of Etterbeek.
“The police aim to recruit 3,000 people each year for both civilian and operational functions,” Home Affairs Minister Annelies Verlinden said at a first information session for prospective candidates.
The new selection process will take no more than 18 weeks, which would enable the new recruits to start training and enter the service more quickly.
Prospective candidates "are tested on their general knowledge and personality,” while operational candidates also need to do a sports test. Moreover, anyone joining the police is screened.
All these tests are necessary when one joins the police, but they can take an inordinate length of time, so some candidates drop out while others find jobs along the way.
A major innovation is that candidates will be able to select for themselves the date of their next test while some of the tests can be done at home online.
“I’m very happy to be able to launch this campaign," Verlinden said on Saturday. “The Integrated Police are one of the country’s main employers. We need to do everything to attract enough suitable candidates, so we need to run campaigns in the media, on social networks, or organise information days like this one.”
The Brussels Times