PolicePolice
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This page will tell you more about Belgian Police in general, the City Police, my tasks in the City Police, ... |
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My years at the Police so far1 august 1992 : I joined the City Police 1992-93 : 1st y Police Academy - Police Agent's diploma 1993-94 : 2nd y - Police Inspector's diploma 1995-97 : 4th & 5th y - Police Commissioner's diploma. My thesis was a deeper look on the national computerisation project for the City Police called PIP (Police Informatica Project) and it's implications for the local forces. june 1997 : Becoming officer's assistent 1998-99 : Course organised by IA Ministery to become local PIP system administrator |
Where I work - a municipality called DE HAAN, situated at the BELGIAN COAST - we have to be all-round as we are a force with only 32 persons. When the weather is good (and certainly during holidays and summerseason) we have a lot of work. People come to visit the beach, the dunes and the woods from everywhere in Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany.
I have various tasks. I am the assistant of a Police Officer which means I help him with his criminal work and that I assist him leading the shift. Next to that I'm still patrol-agent and I do the reception area ( = police entrance, call-taking, dispatching, taking complaints ...) too from time to time.
I have one special task which is about computers. I made the templates we use so far and now I help with the local implementation of the national computer project. I'm the support-guy for other collegues. In case of problems, needs or questions - call Frank. Not that I can solve each problem but for most 'normal' things I can help them out. I just finished becoming system administrator and now work on the puter gets a bit heavier (which I like a lot). I'm co-responsible for implementing the national software provided by internal affairs ministery. They have a team that writes the software and also for hardware support there's a national team.
I used to have a second special task with was speed control with an anonymous policecar with built-in radar. (regular policecars don't have camera nor radar built in) We didn't have that car day in day out ... but the local governement didn't support the funds for it so we're without now.
It was based on timesharing with other forces as it's quite expensive equipment. It's an older car and the used technology isn't so recent ... but it works (wink). Even with the timesharing, a few other collegues and I regularly had the opportunity to patrol with it. We primarely controlled in suburbs and near 'black spots' (which is the name we use for a place where lots of severe roadaccidents happen). Developping the film and reading the films was the work of the policeagent who patrolled. After each shift of speed control followed a little 'dark room'-time. We only develop pictures of the film in case of deniaI and on request of the D.A. The yearly analysis of the data gathered from all 'our' local speedcontrols was a job for me too. In the future the speed patrol may return but the goverment gives it low priority.
From my experience I can tell that every day is different. First there are my various tasks and second, when something happens, it's for the team at work. And since we mostly work with just a small team, anything that happens is for your team to deal with. (It's always nice to have everybody involved in a case ;) ...). In these few years that I'm with the Police time never stood still. I started very young (age 19) in this lively job and I really enjoy it. There's so much to do ... there's so much that happens where Police have to be in action. And in the force where I work there's ( a little ) room for personal input. It's a great job. It has it's hard times and rougher days - but it's really a job I love.
Police reorganisation it's a (very) hot topic recent years in Belgium. But politics are so much involved in it that they compromise and compromise ... and forget that the topic is a more efficient structure and a more efficient Police. We have various Police forces working next to one another and each force works independent. Next to the City Police (Gemeentepolitie - Police Communale) there is the National Police (Rijkswacht - Gendarmerie) and the Criminal Police (Gerechtelijke Politie - Police Judiciare).The Criminal Police works under the local District Attorney.
Reformation plans changed and they kept changing very quickly. So quickly it was almost impossible to be up to date. By the time you knew a plan someone else came up with another since he didn't agree on this and that. The report of the Parliamentary Commission (Commissie Dutroux*) was pretty clear and well-structurered. Policechiefs agreed ... politicians agreed ... Or at least : it seemed that way. When we looked at the cards on the table, there was nothing but guessing. But ! ! There came an agreement and the politicians and responsable ministers say it is going to change soon.
The plan on the table is a two layer structure. A local and a national level. First all policeforces will be joined into one force. All the other than city-policeforces will join the national police. All the city-policeforces will stay local together with the now existing local national brigades. This is based on the now existing Inter Police Zones which is the local police brigades working more close together to operate 24/24. Where now everybody just works in his own building and stays in his own force, with the integration this should change into living in the same building and becoming one family. First start ? 2001
* Dutroux = a man who is accused of sexual abuse of children and murder. His arrest leaded to a nationwide call for better organised Justice and Police. His case got worldwide attention when his activities surfaced. He is still in prison and his case didn't come to trial yet.
Police Academy
The City Police has provincial academies in the main town of each province : Brugge (Bruges) in West-Flanders (West-Vlaanderen), Gent (Ghent) in East-Flanders (Oost-Vlaanderen), Antwerpen (Antwerp) in Antwerpen, ... The National Police has one national academy in Brussels. If you pass one year of basic training and education you are ready for general work as 'politieagent / agent de police' of 'rijkswachter / gendarme '. To get access to higher ranks you have to go to extra courses which can be several years of part-time education or full-time for a couple of months. That depends on which force you are in and to which academy you have to go, since not all provincial academies have the same schedules and courses. In the light of police reformation the academies will reform too and will give courses to the new force.
City Police Grades
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... (to be continued)